Divide et Impera
by Tryglaw
Summary: This is about roads not taken. Does the truth really point to itself ? And how will the Terran Empire react to EarthMinbari war ? ST B5 crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Usual disclaimer - all the trademark covered and reserved stuff, characters, technological references and such, belong to their respective owners.  
The author announces that he either owns anything covered by copyrights nor does he wish to infringe any copyrights. He owns only the characters and technologies he created. The story is for entertainment only, and is under no circumstances to be used for commerial purposes.

The story is co-written by Entilza, to whom big kudos.

**DIVIDE ET IMPERA**

**Chapter One:**

Captain Sheridan slowly pushed open the heavy oak doors and entered General Lefcourt's office. The General was already waiting for him, a file  
waiting on his desk and a serious expression on his face.

"It's good to have you back, captain," Lefcourt said in greeting.

"Thank you, general. It is good to be back," Sheridan replied.

"Have a seat," Lefcourt suggested, pointing to a chair in front of his desk.  
"I've read your report and... it doesn't look good."

"I know," Sheridan replied, taking the seat Lefcourt had offered.  
"If I may, sir, are there any leads on who busted the party?"

"Nothing concrete yet, but we can be sure it wasn't one of our on ships. To be completely sure we'll need to wait for the official investigation and  
several unofficial ones as well, to finish, but I can already tell you that we've accounted for all our jump-capable ships that were close enough at  
the point of the attack. Even the ones that weren't in range check out.Whoever did it, it wasn't us."

"Well that just doesn't make any sense sir. If the Minbari did it, why let me live? They don't like me very much you know. I did blow up their flagship,"  
Sheridan smiled. "And the way things are at the front, they'd hardly need to bother with subterfuge like that... Plus I've got no idea what was that  
thing about the "future in Dukhat's sanctum" the Minbari who met us meant. Dukat was their leader, but what was the "future" thing supposed  
to mean? It makes no sense..."

"I don't know either, Captain. Something's very wrong about this whole thing; we're missing a crucial piece of the puzzle. Still, right now there's  
nothing we can do about it," Lefcourt sighed.

"Sir, I'm ready to return to the _Lexington_ on the first available flight."

"I know you are, but you won't."

"Sir?" Sheridan asked.

"Now listen carefully, captain. What I am about to tell you, you will not discuss with anybody else. You won't talk about it, you won't even think  
about it, clear?" Lefcourt asked, his eyes betraying the war of emotion going on in his head.

"I know how to follow orders, general," Captain Sheridan replied, slightly offended that Lefcourt thought him incapable of keeping a secret.

"Good. Now hear me out. You and I know both, that as it stands right now, the Alliance is not going to win this war, which kind of narrows it down.  
Unless we somehow manage to turn the tide, and quick, we're going to loose. The only question is how badly. We know that Minbari society is  
divided into 3 castes. Warrior, Worker, and Religious; those who fight, those who work, and those who pray. Their conduct so far seems to  
support this – they're fighting along these divisions, killing off our warriors while leaving the rest alone. Will this trend still hold after our military is no  
more...? We can't tell. The Minbari leader was killed by our military and maybe, just maybe, they'll be satisfied with taking their retribution out on  
EarthForce alone. But while we hope for the best, we have to prepare for the worst."

"I only hope it won't come to that, sir," Sheridan said.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to hope, but hope alone isn't good enough. Since the official approach doesn't seem to work, we'll be trying the unofficial one.  
EarthForce Black Ops has been authorized to acquire new weapons and technologies through whatever means required. It may make some of the  
League governments sore at us, but they'd need to catch us first, and besides, they owe us for the Dilgar War. And since they refuse to help us  
on their own, we'll simply help ourselves."

"I know some League races are pretty advanced, but will this be enough?"

"We won't know until we actually get the merchandise," Lefcourt conceded. "The beam weapons the Narns sold us are good and will give us  
much greater engagement ranges. What we really need though, are sensors to deal with the Minbari stealth. We'll be focusing our efforts in  
that arena on the Vree and the Abbai for now, and try to infiltrate the Hyach and the Yolu as soon as we can. Our contacts within the Centauri  
Republic are also working on the issue. Maybe we can bribe someone to look the other way as we get what we need."

"I'm beginning to see the picture, but how do I fit into all of this?" Sheridan asked.  
"I'm sure there are others better suited for these sorts ofassignments."

"You're right, which is why you don't fit into this at all. We have no way to know if these... "measures" will allow us to turn the tide of war or not. And  
we have no intention of going down like the Dilgar did, which is why a contingency plan has been devised. Even if Earth and the Alliance should  
fall, humanity must survive – no matter what it takes."

At this, Sheridan shifted uncomfortably in his chair while Lefcourt continued.

"Now listen closely, for this is beyond "TOP SECRET". The project is called "Operation Noah" - I'm sure you get the reference. Your father is currently  
en route to the League to secretly negotiate passage and settlement rights for potential refugees. We hope to create safe havens for small pockets of  
humanity within and outside of League space. What your father doesn't know however, is that while we hope for him to succede, his mission is  
essentially a feint. We fully expect the Minbari to learn of this, and we hope this will divert their attention away from the main operation."

"And this... "main operiation" is what exactly?" Sheridan asked.

"In short, the goal of Operation Noah is to insure the survival of humanity as we understand the idea, by creating fully self-sufficient colonies outside  
of known space."

That statement alone indicated just how serious EarthGov was about the whole issue. Until now the lack of self-sufficiency all of the colonies shared  
was one of the ways to keep them in line. EarthForce was another.

"They will be called the "Arks". Now as you know, after the Dilgar War we've been expanding in all directions. All but one that is, the space once  
occupied by the Dilgar. Partially because it's so far away, partially because as their sun went nova it messed up the adjacent jump routes, and  
partially because it wouldn't do for our public image to "scavenge" the worlds the Dilgar had clensed. All of which is of no consequence right now.  
Conventional observation with high-resolution optical telescopes has yielded several promising locations, all past the former Dilgar territory and  
well into uncharted space. We've observed about a dozen solar systems not connected to the beacon network, and that's just the start. In at least  
two systems we suspect habitable planets similar to Earth – in one additional case we believe a moon of a gas giant might fit the bill as well. I  
take it you are familiar with the Explorer-class vessels?"

"Yes sir, before the war I planned to request reassignment to one of them, once they'd enter service. Now though... Wait, am I...?" Sheridan asked,  
realizing what Lefcourt might be up to.

"No, not exactly," Lefcourt replied, much to Sheridan's relief. "The Explorers will play an essential part in this, but as for you, this will be your new  
command."

A small display screen popped out of the desk, presenting an image of a modified Nova-class dreadnaught with an added rotating section in the  
middle.

"Nova-X class, I heard about them. Built for long-duration missions," Sheridan said, still wondering why he was being reassigned.

"Exactly," Lefcourt replied, his smile growing a bit and just beginning to reach his eyes. "This is the _E.A.S. North Star_, Nova-X Mk2 subtype.  
Refitted with the long range beam weapons we bought from the Narns. Observe..."

The display zoomed in, magnifying the bow of the ship. Where on the port and starboard of the bow the typical Nova used to sport two twin  
mounts of heavy pulse cannons, the Nova-X had... something else.

"Those are the Narn beam cannons, reverse-engineered from Centauri technology. As you see, there are two of them in a twin mount where the  
four pulse cannons used to be. This gives you nice long range punch of four beam weapons in the forward arc. Here..."

The display shifted, this time showing the aft part of the ship.

"...same deal. Four aft-facing beam cannons, though here each one is placed separately, above each engine. Those cannons would give the  
Minbari a lasting impression, if we only could hit the bastards. Still..." – the display shifted again – "amidships, instead of the usual payload, you have  
pulse turrets from your typical Hyperion-class. 4 in front of the rotating section, 8 behind it. This is to save mass and give you good anti-fighter  
coverage. Still, your rules of engagement are as follows: every threat you can engage, gun down at long range. This is what the beam cannons are  
for. When you can't engage, like with the Minbari, run like hell. With the uprated engines, you've got the fastest ship class in the fleet. Each of the  
three Explorers currently in service will be escorted by two Nova-X Mk2s.  
The _North Star_ and the _Paladin_ will escort the _Copernicus_. Your, along with the other two groups, will scout the systems our telescopes have  
discovered and lay the foundations for colonisation. The construction of another three Explorers is being rushed, and they will join the effort as  
soon as possible. Now, contrary to the usual procedure, you will not be constructing any jumpgates. The last thing we want is for anybody to  
follow you; the colonies must remain secret and separated no matter what. So in order to get there secretly, two new technologies will be used. First  
is the "Ariadna's Thread." You are familiar with the myth I take it?"

Sheridan chuckled. "My wife's an archeologist sir; I could recite half the Greek mythology if I had to."

"Good," Lefcourt replied. "This particular "Thread" works as follows:"

The display changed to show the schematic of a slightly enlarged Starfury.

"The main idea is to allow ship movements as far outside the beacon's guiding beam as possible. These fighters are used for just that reason.  
Each ship involved in the operation will carry a full "Thread," each consisting of 12 special pourpose Starfuries. The Furies in question are fully  
automated; their hulls are built for stealth, covered completely with sensor-absorbing materials. They carry no weapons, save a two megaton  
nuke, of the same type you applied to the _Black Star_ so nicely."

Both officers smiled at that.

"The nuke is plugged to a proximity sensor and will go off when capture is imminent, or when ordered to. Still, its main function is as follows; each  
and every craft in the Thread carries the most sophisticated sensors and communication suite our technology allows. One of them travels on the  
very edge of the nav-beacon guiding beam, and via narrow-beam peer-to-peer laser comm is connected to the next one in the chain, outside  
the guiding beam, thus forming the Thread– and this one to the next one, and so on, for the whole dozen of them. The last one is connected to their  
mothership, which in turn is connected to the rest of the convoy. Now as only a peer-to-peer laser connection is used, the chance of your position  
being given away by a stray emission is less then slim, provided all ships in the convoi observe silent running protocols."

"I think that's a given," Sheridan said. This operation certainly looked interesting, but it also betrayed Earth's desperation. If the military was  
taking materials away from warship production to build transport ships…

"Now, once ready, your group will move to the Epsilon system, and from there, "above" Narn space, to the former Dilgar territory. You'll be using the  
less-used jump-routes to further minimise chances of detection. IPX has reactivated and rigged a few long abandoned jumpgates you and the  
others will be using for the final jumps. They work on encrypted frequencies, and require proper codes to even start sending their locations.  
Past that one, you'll be making use of yet another invention; instead of a jumpgate, you'll be planting a chain of low-power narrow-beam transmitters  
in normal space. Those are programmed to respond only to a proper code transmitted within the prearranged timeframe, so you need both the codes  
and the timetable to get them to respond. When you pass the last jumpgate, you'll be jumping out every 45 to 60 minutes, recalculating your  
position in normal space, planting the transmitter, and jumping back in. Again, this is to minimise the chances of detection."

"Sounds like it'll be a pretty interesting run," Sheridan said. Traveling in hyperspace without a beacon was considered suicide by most, but by only  
making short jumps it was possible, though still risky. The main reason point jumps weren't used often, besides the risk of getting lost or swept away by  
a grav current, was because of the rapid depletion of the rare and valuable Quantium 40 it entailed.

Lefcourt continued. "Once you reach your destination, you will chart the system and determine its potential for colonisation and development. As we  
assume they will be found suitable, each Explorer, along with its escorts, will carry the personnel, hardware and supplies required to lay the basic  
foundations for a fully self-sustained colony. With the initial work completed, you'll start hauling in everything else; pre-fab housing,  
automated assembly lines, power plants, mining equipment, orbital installations and so on. Essentially what we're talking about is a colony  
capable of surviving and moving on without external support. We hope to move as many people as we can there without compromising secrecy. The  
Planetary Draft will soon be enacted, and we'll draft the people we need and then "deploy" them under classified orders. Any questions?"

"Just one sir. When does it start?" Sheridan asked.

"The _North Star_ and the _Paladin_ are ready and filled to capacity, and the _Copernicus_ is being loaded as we speak. Your convoy will depart Proxima in  
a few days. Oh, one more thing; your wife is among the attached IPX team. Good luck John, you're going to need it."

Sheridan rose and was about to walk out, when he turned back to his superior. "Sir, I almost forgot, who will command the other ships in my  
group, and who's in charge of our mission?"

"I believe you know them both. Overall command falls to the captain Jack Maynard of the _Copernicus_, and do keep in mind that the survival of this  
vessel has absolute priority."

"And the _Paladin_?"

General Lefcourt produced a smile. "You know that particular officer extremely well," Lefcourt smiled, sending a slight shiver up Sheridan's spine.

"Captain Elizabeth Lockley."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

Captain Sheridan entered the bridge, the armored blast doors hissing open softly. To get used to traveling on a ship with gravity had taken him  
several weeks, and earned a few laughs from the crew. The _North Star _was the first of the second subtype of Nova-X battleships, fitted with a mix of  
Earth's own pulse weapons and the Narn beam cannons, giving her a respectable punch in a firefight, though so far they had never forced to  
use them in anything but tests.

The bridge lights, spaced evenly across the ceiling, covered the room in soft clear white light. He had been in command of the _North Star _for almost  
a year now, ever since the Ark colonies had been started. Even though it was a morale killer, humanity's survival was more important. And the news  
from the front were hardly inspiring. While the Minbari were taking their time with the Alliance, all of the outer colonies and outposts had fallen by  
now, and the boneheads were fully expected to move against the Ross system within the week. This meant Proxima was next in line, and after  
Proxima...

EarthForce fought hard for every inch of space, played every dirty trick in the book, but in the end it had only delayed the inevitable...

Sheridan reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a photograph of him and his wife. They were smiling, sitting together on a bench in New York's  
Central Park. Right now Anna was on the Terra Nova Colony, doing archeological digs in the ruins of one of the planet's long dead alien cities.  
Due to the imposed comm silence last message he got from her was when they were still orbiting the Ark colony. He smiled as he thought of greeting  
when the convoy arrived and settling down to start the family they had dreamed of.

"You'll see her soon Captain," a soft voice cut into Sheridan's reverie. He looked up and found his first officer Lt. Lisa Foster holding on to the back  
of his chair; a data pad clutched in her free hand. "The manifest you requested." Sheridan took the pad and glanced over it. "Quite the haul  
wouldn't you say?" She smiled.

"Yep, over fifteen thousand in cold sleep for our ship alone. And another fifty for the _Copernicus. _General Lefcourt told me this'll be the last convoy  
to the colony before it's cut off."

Sheridan was referring to the order that once the convoy reached Terra Nova, located nearly nine light years beyond the edge of known space, the  
nearest two jump gates and the planted nav beacons guiding to it would be destroyed to make any possible pursuit by the Minbari impossible.

The area was so void of life that nobody would even notice, as it was Earth's IPX that reactivated those jumpgates a year ago to begin with, and  
they were working on encrypted frequencies ever since – aside of that gate logs indicated no unauthorised usage whatsoever.

Considering the stakes of the game though, one just couldn't be too sure, for which reason exactly neither he, nor anybody else short of general  
Hague, currently in charge of Terra Nova, knew the locations of the other four Arks that had been established – only four others.

Six months into the project, one of the Explorers, the _Tycho Brahe,_ along with its escorts, disappeared without a trace, to be never heard from  
again.

Most of the people involved didn't even know other Arks existed, since what they didn't know they couldn't give away. Back on Earth, only General  
Lefcourt and President Levy had those details.

All the others had already been evacuated, yet the president and the general had decided to stay behind and go down with Earth if needed,  
though none of them could be allowed to be taken alive, and precautions had been taken to insure that.

It had been a tough call, to decide who was to have a chance for a new start, and who wasn't. The toll it extracted was plain to see. In the last  
few months Lefcourt seemed to have aged at least a decade, and the president wasn't much better off.

In the end, necessity decided – people were chosen by the virtue of their knowledge, skills and youth, as soon enough fertility would be just as  
important as engineering skills.

And the standing order was, once the Arks were on their own, rules on EarthForce personnel fraternization were to be suspended for indefinite  
amount of time.

To make sure the survivors did not loose their cultural heritage, all the greatest artworks and cultural artifacts that weren't too impractical for  
transport had been vacuum-sealed and sent to the Arks with the previous shipment.

And here they were, the last convoy to depart. In addition to the _Copernicus_ and the two escorting battleships, six Asimov-class transports  
filled to capacity with even more people in cold storage were to meet them en-route. With their last flight the population of Terra Nova would be up to  
an impressive 850,000.

Impressive for a colony, yet tragically small considering how many had been left behind.

Sheridan knew that the Arks accommodated a grand total of about 3.1 million people.

Population-wise Terra Nova was mid-sized; Shangri-La sported ¾ of a million, and Valhalla about half a million. Hyperborea was by far the biggest  
colony, with almost a million people in it – a massive resettlement effort, even in peace time.

It was almost a miracle that secrecy had been maintained, though the PsiCorps did help along in that respect. And of the PsiCorps, only those of  
P-10 level or above had been included. Sheridan was suspicious of allowing Psicops aboard his ships, but he could at least rest knowing they were in  
cold sleep along with the others. Still, something told him they'd be trouble later on.

"I still can't believe this is happening," Lisa said, her eyes glazing over a bit as she stared out into the shifting patterns of hyperspace. Sheridan's mind  
snapped back from where it had been.

Damn this trip was making him jumpy!

"I mean, only 2 year ago humanity was the rising star of the galaxy. We were expanding in every direction, making treaties with the alien races, hell  
we even saved the League's collective asses from the Dilgar." That last part drew a chuckle from Sheridan. His father had fought in the Dilgar War,  
and had told him about what they were capable of.

"I know" Sheridan replied, trying to hide his grimace at the mention of the League. With all that Earth had done for them in the Dilgar War, those  
bastards not only did turn away from Earth in the hour of its greatest need, but had actually closed their space, refusing to accept any refugees.  
Words could hardly describe the way Earth and humans felt about this. Many said it was a pity Earth hadn't sided with the Dilgar, not that it made  
any difference right now.

However, should humanity ever find itself in position to settle the score...

Still, Sheridan looked around at his bridge crew - most of them were fresh from the academy. All the veterans had been sent to the front in an  
attempt to slow the Minbari as much as they could. Even though they knew it was suicide they still went, willing to give their lives for humanity's  
future. He felt he should be there as well. He had destroyed the Minbari flagship, giving EarthForce its first and so far only major victory against the  
Minbari. But he knew that this task was just as important. He was making sure that even if Earth fell, the human race could continue living elsewhere.

"I'd hoped that after the Dilgar, Earth would have a chance to catch its breath, create a new future for everyone."

"And then that bastard Jankowski had to go and send that future straight to hell," Lisa hissed, her hand crinkling the leather of the chair as her fist  
tightened. "He shouldn't even have been on that mission. You tried to prevent him going didn't you?"

"Yeah," Sheridan replied, giving a deep sigh. "I told General Lefcourt Jankowski didn't handle First Contact situations very well. His own men  
considered him a loose cannon. Maybe if I'd tried harder…"

"You did everything you could sir. Permission to speak freely?" Sheridan nodded. "Do you have any kids?"

"No, not yet," Sheridan replied. "Anna and I hope to start a family once I arrive."

"I had an older brother. He joined EarthForce about two years ago. He was weapons officer aboard the _Phoenix," _Lisa said with little emotion.

"I'm sorry." Sheridan knew the _Phoenix_been destroyed at the Battle of Leonis.

"Our parents died when we were kids, my Grandmother took care of us. She wanted to come with us, but she didn't make the list." Lisa turned  
away, but Sheridan could see her brush a tear from her cheek.

"Captain, we're two hours out from the Epsilon beacon," Ensign Vadas called out from helm.

"All right, prepare for jump. We'll enter at the far edge of the system and rendezvous with the transports before making the final journey to the colony."

**…...**

Captain Michael Stasavich rubbed his temples, his short brown hair waving as his fingers brushed through it. His ship, the Hyperion cruiser _Lexington,  
_was flying point for the convoy to make sure no Minbari ships were coming their way.

"Anything on the scanners?"

"Nothing yet sir," Lt. Kellis replied from sensors. "Just the usual background emissions. Permission to speak freely sir?"

Captain Stasavich nodded.

"Why are we here Sir? We could be making a difference in this if we were with the main fleet."

"We're doing our duty Mr. Kellis. Now this mission might not be the most glamorous of 'em all, but if it helps Earth I'll do whatever I'm told. "

"I understand sir. It's just that- sensors are picking up jump points forming ahead. Reading Minbari style transmission!"

"Combat alert. All hands to battle stations!" Captain Stasavich called out.

Alarms began blaring and a low hum was felt in the deck plating as power was routed to the forward pulse cannons.

"Send an emergency signal to the convoi Minbari vessels dead ahead. Moving to engage. God speed to you all."

"Aye sir, message away," Kellis replied. The bridge crew simply kept working, a strange calm settling over them. They all knew the Minbari were  
too close to make a run back to the convoy, so they silently resolved to take as many Minbari wit them as they could.

"Is the jump point in weapons range?"

"Confirmed sir. Jump point five hundred kilometers ahead."

"Target all batteries on the closest one. We just might be able to hit the boneheads as they enter hyperspace," the captain ordered.

As with most men who knew they were going to die, Captain Stasavich felt a strange detachment, as though he were watching events unfold from  
outside his body. This would be his last engagement, but all he could think about was his family back on Earth. He would give his life for them, and it  
seemed he would get his wish.

The jump points flared as five Minbari Warcruisers entered the shifting red and black realm of hyperspace. Pulse cannons and a pair of fusion missiles  
raced from the Hyperion, aimed not at the Minbari directly, but at the massive energy signature of a jump point. Half of the pulse cannons and  
one of the missiles connected with the Sharlin, blasting away crystalline armor but doing far too little damage to kill the target. The return volley of  
neutron beams tore away the_Lexington's_forward weapon mount and carved along the starboard beam.

Lt. Kellis looked over his display, ignoring the pain racing down his back from where a small support beam had gashed him as it fell. The damage  
was bad, but the bridge was still mostly intact. "Missile launchers out of action, pulse cannon two damaged, heavy damage to the starboard  
section," he called out.

"Continue firing," the captain replied, bleeding heavily from a shrapnel cut to his forehead. "If we go out we're taking at least one of these Minbari  
bastards with us." The _Lexington_fired one more volley before Minbari weapons carver her into pieces. The _Lexington_ blew apart, her debris  
pinging off the crystalline Minbari vessels. Even in death she taunted the enemy. Once again the humans had fought bravely, but in the end it was  
all in vain.

**…..**

"God speed to you all."

Sheridan watched for thirty long seconds as the energy signatures of weapons fire lit hyperspace, then it was gone, along with yet another  
EarthForce ship. He knew everyone felt the loss, but for him it was far deeper. The _Lexington _had been his ship, and for her to die without her  
captain wounded him in a way few could imagine. It was as if a piece of him was gone, a piece of his soul he would never get back. He vowed then  
and there to personally burn that Minbari cruiser, no matter what it took, but for the moment he had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Ok, we need to get farther off the beacon. Launch Alpha Squadron, we'll use them to lengthen the sensor chain," Sheridan ordered. He knew it wasrisky moving even further off beacon, but running into a Minbari battlegroup would bring a swift end to their venture.

As the first manned and overall second of the _North Star's _three Starfury squadrons was launched, the capital ships moved further into the  
unexplored depths of hyperspace. The gravitational currents became stronger, shaking the ships slightly.

"This is Alpha Leader, we're taking position" – came the report – "I'll take point at the end of the Thread; Mitchell – with me. Alpha Wing, keep your  
distances and stay sharp."

"We can't stay this far out for long sir. Turbulence is increasing and the fighters are having trouble keeping formation," Lt. Foster warned.

"I know, but if we head back too soon we'll run straight into the Minbari, and I'd rather take my chances here," Sheridan countered. "But just in  
case, stand by on the jump engines."

Suddenly hyperspace seemed to tilt and a massive impact knocked the entire bridge crew off their feet.

"What the hell was that?"

"We're caught in some kind of tidal current," Lisa replied, holding her left wrist which was obviously broken. She returned to her station, ignoring the  
pain as much as she could.

"Our speed's increasing. Alpha Squadron's still with us, but we've lost contact with the automated fighters," Lisa called out, her voice betraying the terror now surging through the bridge crew.

They'd lost contact with the beacon. They were lost in hyperspace!

"Can we break free?" Sheridan asked. If they could get out of the current quick enough there was a chance they could find their other fighters again  
and get back on beacon.

"Unknown, sir. Even if _we_ can, the Asimovs won't handle the stress," Lt. Foster replied.

Sheridan's hopes once again plummeted. He glanced at the photo of his wife and closed his eyes for several long moments.

"I guess we've only got one choice then," Sheridan resided. "We'll just have to follow this current and hope it leads us somewhere safe. Unless  
anyone has a better idea?" No one spoke up, so Sheridan simply nodded.

"Ok, tell Sinclair to get his squadron back to the barn. All ships rig for silent running. I don't want the Minbari to know there are any more ships out  
here, so don't even fire a thruster without my order. Lt. Foster, you should get to sickbay and have dr. Franklin take a look at that wrist."

"Thank you sir," Lisa replied and walked off. Sheridan noticed as she walked out that her steps lacked the energy he'd seen in them a few short  
seconds ago.

"Now we just have to hope we survive," Sheridan whispered under his breath.

**…..**

Nearly six weeks had passed since the EarthForce convoy had been swept up by the jump current. They were traveling much faster than normal, but  
for some strange reason the acceleration hadn't turned them all into paste.

The data they managed to gather indicated that the relative middle of the current provided a smooth ride, while the further away from it, the more  
bumpy the things became.

Attempting to cross the egde would shred them.

"Captain, the current's beginning to slow," Lisa called from the helm. Her wrist had healed, though she still rubbed it occasionally. Sheridan guessed  
it was becoming a nervous habit. "There's a gravitational increase ahead. Possibly a planet. No jump beacons in reception range."

"All right, bring jump engines on-line."

"Are you sure sir?" Lisa asked nervously. "We could emerge into the photosphere of a sun."

"I know," Sheridan replied, feeling surprisingly calm for a man possibly about to die. "Still, it's this or trying to find our way back to beacon network."

"Aye sir, bringing jump engines on-line," Lisa replied. A tension filled the bridge. The next few seconds would see either their salvation or their end.

"Jump!" Sheridan ordered. The old familiar orange vortexes swirled into existence and slowly the convoy entered. They emerged a few thousand  
kilometers from a barren planet. The surface showed signs of a massive bombardment, with craters over most of the landmasses and dust storms  
whipping around the equator. Squadrons of ships immediately raced towards them, moving faster than any vessels Sheridan had ever seen.

"Talk to me Foster!"

"Sir I'm picking up more than a hundred ships out there. All of them are smaller than the Asimovs, but they're putting out more energy than a  
Minbari cruiser. And there's something about them that's messing with our sensors. All I get is a silhouette. And visual." Lisa replied. "I'm also reading  
orbital weapon platforms and a space station."

Sheridan looked at the main viewer and saw dozens of ships. They were all dull-grey and followed a pattern of having a saucer section, in case of the  
larger ones attached by a thin neck of a sort to a tubular secondary hull, with a rather bulky pod placed in the middle of each neck. A blue glowing  
dish-like structure was visible at the front of the tubular part of the hull.

The smaller ships had just the saucer section, and some sort of a pod on a roll-bar. All the ships had two bluish glowing pods, as long as the secondary  
hulls and rather slim and flat. Each pod was mounted at the end of back-swept long pylon in case of the two-hull ships, or directly adjacent to  
the saucer of the single hulled ships.

The space station was huge, easily as tall as an Explorer-class long, and roughly resembled a dull-gray metallic mushroom. Sheridan could just make  
out an insignia pained on the front; a golden globe with a sword vertically piercing it down the middle.

"Open a channel to the closest ship. Send on all frequencies, radio and tachion: "This is Captain John Sheridan of the Earth Alliance starship _North  
Star. _We have no hostile intensions, we come in peace. I repeat, we come in peace." Tense seconds ticked by.

Finally, after over a minute of sweating, the comm unit beeped approvingly.

"We're getting a reply," Lt. Foster smiled. "Audio only."

"Put it through," Sheridan replied, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, along with half the bridge crew. After several seconds a  
strong and proud voice filled the _North Star's _command deck. Amazingly, it spoke in almost perfect English – almost, as the accent was... odd.

"This is Captain Cato Julii of the Imperial Starship _Red Dawn. _Our sensors detect you are all human, but your ships are unfamiliar to us. Regardless,  
you have entered the territory of the Terran Empire. Stand down your weapons and prepare to be boarded."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

By all accounts, Captain Julii should have been a happy man. He should  
have been, but he was not. Sure, his new command was a true marvel of  
Imperial engineering – a brand new _Conquistador-_class heavy cruiser; only  
a month out of her shakedown cruise. Even the paint still smelled fresh. His  
biggest grievance however, was that this command came too late.

He had seen plenty of action in the wars and campaigns the Empire had  
fought. Fresh out of the Academy, having graduated as the best of his  
year, he had gotten his first assignment aboard a Crusader-class light  
cruiser, the _Gladius. _Through a combination of talent, guts, luck, and a not  
so small amount of really hard work, in just six years he'd risen from a mere  
ensign to the ship's Tactical Officer – and shortly after that to captain.

His last promotion had happened one day as he was inspecting the  
saucer-mounted torpedo tubes in preparation for the incoming engagement  
against an Orion raiding group. The Orion pirates however, had decided not  
to wait and took the initiative, ambushing their vessel. In the opening  
volley they scored a lucky hit on the heavily armored bridge cupola, killing  
its entire crew.

He had managed to repel the Orion boarding party, take command of the  
ship from main engineering, and beam a rather explosive surprise (a torpedo  
with a pirate literally tied to the casing, in order to confuse the enemy  
sensors) over to each of the two opposing cruisers. He had returned home  
with the _Gladius _largely intact, and a captured enemy frigate in tow.

That feat had given him command of the _Gladius, _and the Imperial Palm  
Leaf the highest decoration for combat achievements. Then came the  
Romulan War, and with it more victories and more decorations, and of  
course a never ending streak of jokes about "giving the Rommies the  
_Gladius _treatment".

Finally, after four years in charge of the _Gladius_, Command had given him  
his own squadron, and the _Red Dawn _to lead it.All of which came too late,  
for the war was over. Sure, the Imperial Fleet was still busy mopping up  
Romulan marauders, but instead of being out there, on the fringe of  
civilized space, making even more of a name for himself, he was assigned  
here, guarding Hadrian's Wall.

Not that the assignment wasn't prestigious. Hadrian's Wall was a series of  
combat-oriented Starbases deployed in each and every system adjacent to  
Imperial Terra which, along with their fleets, guarded the approach vectors  
to the Imperial capitol.

But this assignment was fitting mostly to the veterans of the Fleet – a  
rather euphemistic description of seasoned officers long past their prime,  
who simply wished to serve out the reminder of their terms in a neat and  
cozy place, with the comforts of a Starbase at hand, and then enjoy the  
benefits of the retirement. But for someone whose star was on the rise it  
was hardly acceptable.

He glanced at his bridge crew. All of them, in fact every single crew  
member, had been hand picked. The humans came from long term allies,  
supporters or affiliates of the Julii family, and all of them could be trusted  
completely. That was a good thing, even if the reforms in the recent years  
had vastly reduced the extent of back-stabbing. Now the only legal way to  
"remove" a superior was if the person in question demonstrated either  
cowardice in face of the enemy, or ineptitude that threatened the survival  
of the ship. Regulations in that regard were very strict and precise, and no  
deviations were tolerated. And the paperwork involved was always a major  
pain in the _anus._ But still, there were other, more subtle ways then the  
proverbial dagger in the back, and one just couldn't be too sure.

And here he was now, about to die from the most insidious enemy  
imaginable, boredom. What kept morale high were the weekly war games,  
held between the various squadrons of the fleet. So far they were doing  
very well, rating as the third of twenty-five squadrons in the _Sixth_  
_Imperial._

Still, maybe it was time to call in a favor or two and get his squadron  
reassigned, he mused, either somewhere close to Orion, or along the  
Tholian border would do quite nicely. The Gorn border also had a lot of  
potential for action, though the potential spoils around Orion...

The sound of alarm shook him out of his stupor.

"Sir, we have a... some kind of subspace anomaly is forming 6 thousand  
kilometers away from New Sparta, and eight hundred kilometers from us.  
Appears to be sort of a rift... wait, we've got incoming, ships emerging!"

Damn, this was bad. No species in known space had the ability to move its  
ships entirely through subspace. Emerging so close to the Starbase, so  
shortly after the _Eight Imperial _departed to reinforce the Klingon border  
could only mean...

"Sound battle stations, the squadron is to form up on us, standard wedge  
formation, all ships prepare to engage hostiles. And give me a threat  
assessment as soon as possible," Captain Julii ordered. As always, crew  
response time was well above that specified by regulations – the way it  
should be. They were the best, and all stations were already reporting in.

The main viewer showed nine vessels in total emerging from some soft of  
blue vortex. Three were enormous – the biggest one was about as long as  
a Starbase was tall, the other two much smaller by comparison, but still  
very big, with hammerhead shaped bows. The remaining six vessels were  
even smaller and ball-shaped, but still bigger then any Imperial ship  
currently in service. Every single ship had for some peculiar reason a part  
of its hull... rotating? The ball-shaped ones seemed to rotate their entire  
hulls, save the frontal protrusion. And all of them had Arabic letters on their  
hulls.

"Talk to me."

"They don't match any known profiles Captain. The biggest one is 6.1  
kilometer long, the other two are about 1.7 kilometers each, and the  
remaining ones are about 600 meters. They're... there's no way you're  
going to believe this..." Lt. Flavius reported.

Cato inhaled deeply, prepared for the worst.

At which point the tactical officer announced: "Rest of the fleet is forming  
up and ready for action."

"Tactical analysis," Captain Julii demanded.

"They're primitive, sir. They don't even have artificial gravity – hence the  
rotation. I'm not reading any proper shields, nor a structural integrity grid.  
They are running on fusion reactors – very large but fairly primitive. Ion  
based sublight engines, no warp drives. No subspace signatures  
whatsoever. Armed with an array of low yield particle weapons and nuclear  
missiles, concentrated mainly on the two hammerhead ships Threat  
assessment..." - the officer visibly relaxed - "minimal. Peculiar... I'm reading  
human life signs."

"Are you positive?" The look Cato got in response spoke of wounded  
professional pride. "My apologies."

"Human, no doubt Captain. Tens of thousands of human life signs in fact,  
the vast majority of which seems to be in some sort of cryogenic  
suspension. I am also detecting thousands of tons of various hardware in  
the cargo holds. By the looks of this it could be a colonization fleet sir. I'm  
getting tachyon emissions, possibly their version of sensors. Radio too – a  
message coming in."

"Put it up," Julii ordered.

The message came through a few seconds later, slightly garbled but clear  
enough to discern. "This is Captain John Sheridan of the Earth Alliance  
starship _North Star. _We have no hostile intentions, we come in peace. I  
repeat, we come in peace."

"Earth Alliance? What the hell is this supposed to be?" Julii asked under his  
breath. He muted the audio and looked to Flavius. "Contact the Starbase  
and request further instructions."

"Aye, sir. Connection established… We're to hold the newcomers here,  
ascertain their identity and intentions, and prepare to secure their  
vessels," Flavius replied.

"Well then, open an audio channel," Julii ordered.

"Open."

"This is Captain Cato Julii of the Imperial Starship _Red Dawn. _Our sensors  
detect you are all human, but your ships are unfamiliar to us. Regardless,  
you have entered the territory of the Terran Empire. Stand down your  
weapons and prepare to be boarded."

"Now wait just a minute," Sheridan began before Cato cut him off.

"You have trespassed in Terran space Captain Sheridan. Do not be fooled  
by appearances. I am perfectly able to vaporize your entire fleet if  
necessary, but the presence of humans on ships of unknown design and  
origin has sparked the curiosity of my superiors. We are intrigued by this  
"Earth Alliance" of yours, and what ships filled with people in cryogenic  
suspension are doing in our space..."

For a heartbeat, Sheridan stood flabbergasted – how the hell did they find  
out all that so quickly? Nobody in Known Space had sensors like that. Then  
again, this wasn't Known Space. He wondered what would be the next  
thing to come, matter transmission maybe? Still, his duty was to protect  
the _Copernicus_ at all costs, so while captain Maynard was in overall charge  
of the group, when hostilities were possible it was his job to take over and  
divert attention away from the Explorer-class.

"... so close to one of our key defensive installations. Personally I have no  
wish to harm you Captain, but we must make sure the security of the  
Empire will not be compromised in any way. So assuming you will not  
attempt anything... unwise, I'd like to discuss the situation with you face  
to face, while my people inspect your vessels," the voice of Captain Julii  
proposed.

"You say you recognize us as humans, has your Empire previous contacts  
with the human species?" Sheridan asked.

In response, the channel was filled with loud laughter.

"Come on, you just made my day. Doesn't the term "Terran" ring any bells?  
"Terran" as in "Terra", or Earth if you really insist. You can hardly blame me  
if you don't happen to speak any civilized languages like Latin. The Terran  
Empire is made up of and ran by Humans, or the "Homo Sapiens if you wish  
the proper name. We do have several non-human member species among  
our ranks though."

"No offense, but you'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical on this, and  
how exactly did your people get here, this far from Earth?" Sheridan asked.

"Maybe it would be better if we continue this discussion directly, captain. I  
will beam over along with the inspection teams in 10 minutes."

"Beam over?"

"The Empire utilizes matter transmission technology," Captain Julii  
explained.

Great, just great. The surprises never ceased. What was next,  
faster-then-light in normal space?

"We'll be waiting for you then." As the channel closed, Sheridan turned to  
his first officer. "So, time to suit up then."

He almost chuckled at the face Lt. Foster made at the prospect of wearing  
'one of those damn dresses' as she called the dress uniforms used for first  
contacts.

**…**

10 minutes later, the bridge of the _North Star_ was filled with tense  
anticipation.

The Vree were rumored to have some sort of matter transmission  
technology, but those not so few humans who got first hand experience  
with it had also been subjected to the various experiments the Vree were  
performing, and nobody was _that_ keen to get an anal probe.

Sheridan had contacted the other ships and told them to expect inspection  
teams to arrive. They were to give their full cooperation.

A strange sound suddenly filled the bridge, and twelve columns of sparkling  
blue white light appeared. When the shimmering faded, a dozen people  
stood before Sheridan. Four, probably officers, were clad in crimson and  
black fabric, each armed only with a sidearm and a dagger of some sort,  
and eight others encased entirely in black armor with the exception of their  
heads, and armed with large rifles. The armored visitors had the looks of  
people who'd seen a lot of action, their eyes constantly darting around the  
bridge, searching for potential threats, their weapons at the ready.

"Probably SpecOps..." Sheridan mused.

One of the officers stepped forward. He wore the same uniform as the  
other officers with the exception of a crimson cape and gold braiding on his  
shoulders.

"Greetings and salutations from the Terran Empire. I am Cato of the Julii,  
captain of the _Red Dawn._"

Sheridan's eyes nearly bulged at that – the man who had spoken didn't look  
more than 25 years old.

This was going to be interesting...

**…**

The last four weeks had been... words were hardly adequate to describe it.  
First there was Earth. The Other Earth. Well, two of them in fact. And  
several other planets that came really close. Sheridan's fleet turned out to  
have reached another spiral arm of the galaxy. The Imperial Terra, and the  
so called "Alpha Quadrant" was located in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way  
galaxy, while the sector with the Alliance Earth was near the outer rim the  
Perseus Arm.

The Imperials, once their "curiosity" had been satisfied, gave him and the  
other senior officers from their group a tour of the Empire. Since their  
vessels, or more precisely their jump-engines, had become the Imperial  
R&D's latest toy, they had little else to do.

All the three captains had equally despised the fact that they had no say  
in how the Terrans were dissecting their ships like some lab rats, but they  
were given to understand, in no uncertain terms, that the Empire would  
accept nothing short of full cooperation, which was in their best interest  
anyway.

Especially if they hoped for any Imperial military intervention against the  
Minbari, so they had ordered their crews to cooperate to the  
best of their abilities, and went on sight-seeing.

**…**

Imperial Terra was incredible. Beyond incredible in fact. Everything was...  
almost the same and yet so very, very different. The people were so  
different. The culture too. The Imperial Humans were an odd bunch – they  
displayed the very best, and the very worst traits of humanity all at once.

They could be as friendly, caring and loving like the folks back home, and  
yet demonstrated the cold-blooded ruthlessness that made the Dilgar look  
like Abbai by comparsion.

They used genetic engineering, which they called "augmentation", to  
improve themselves throughout their entire society. While there were limits  
to the extent of the augmentation, apparently to avoid cases of insanity  
and such, the average Terran was smarter, stronger, faster, healthier, and  
lived about twice as long as his Alliance counterpart. It seemed the  
process of genetic augmentation began in the fetal stage for the mental  
and physical part, and ended after puberty for the life-prolonging part.  
They even cloned body parts for replacements.

The Empire accepted alien races who were willing to join the "Imperial  
Cause" and had usefull traits as their equals in the Empire (though Imperial  
Terra in terms of power balance between the various member worlds was a  
lot more equal then the rest), yet those who dared to oppose them were  
more often then not driven into extinction.

They had even renamed the capitol world of a former enemy of theirs, the  
now defunct Romulan Star Empirewhich apparently sported many  
similarities with Imperial Terra's ancient Roman Empire – or with the very  
functional Rome of Magna Roma if one preferred, from Romulus to, odd idea  
of a joke, Constantinopole.

As it became known that the Romulan_s _had enslaved another race on  
their neighboring planet, the Remans, and had been using them as slave  
labor, the Empire took the now liberatedRemans in, and placed them  
in control of what little was left of their former masters.

Another renamed planet was the former homeworld of the Vulcan species,  
which used to bear the same name. It was now known as _New Sparta,_  
though this one was an odd case.

The Vulcan society had apparently had significant internal strife, seemingly  
over a philosophical issue, something called "Surakism."

While the "main stream" part fought along with the Romulans against the  
Terrans, almost a quarter of the Vulcans that were adverse to the concept  
joined the Empire, and were pretty well off under the Terran rule. They  
even got a new homeworld.

The next case was a truly extinct species that had made the lethal mistake  
of offending the Empire, the Tellarites, which had their former home planet  
renamed from Tellar into Nietzsche.

**…**

And then there was the second Earth; the Magna Roma Earth.

The Roman Empire there had never fallen, and in time had dominated their  
Earth. The Romans had long since mastered steam power and were  
beginning to toy around with internal combustion engines and powered  
flight when the Imperials discovered, and shortly after that incorporated  
them.

EA would have made Magna Roma a client state, keeping the locals in  
low-level positions, and the planet itself an over-taxed tourist trap.

The Imperials took them in as equals, and even adopted many traits from  
the Roman culture into their own.

Sheridan was beyond impressed. While not as passionate about the subject  
of history as his wife, he could well appreciate what he saw. Touring the  
ruins of the Ancient Rome was one thing, seeing the _Forum Romanum_ or  
the _Colosseum_ in their full glory was another.

And not just Rome. Byzantium and Lutetia (Paris on other Earths) were  
equally impressive, and so were the other modern-ancient cities. Just  
about the entire, fully romanised antique world was there, carefully  
preserved by the Romans as a part of their cultural heritage. And a  
testimony to their unchallenged reign over the planet.

The Romans had even decided at one point to rebuild and restore what on  
other Earths were known as the Seven Wonders of the Antique – even if  
the decision was made only after joining the Empire, aiming to increase  
tourism revenues, the tempo of the execution was most impressive.

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the  
Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria had been completely  
reconstructed already, and work on the other Wonders was progressing  
well.Save, of course, the Great Pyramid of Giza, which on all of the three  
know Earths stood just the same, and all of them were just as  
breath-taking.

The Alliance delegation just couldn't refuse themselves a visit in a  
_thermae, _where it turned out that the baths were unisex, and modern  
Romans shared their ancestors' concept of modesty, which in turn  
prompted rather embarrassing reactions from the male part of the group,  
obviously not used to this sort of behaviour. Raised by Jesuites,  
Commander Sinclair was the worst case.

After a week of touring Magna Roma, Sheridan could already imagine his  
wife arguing for settling there. He was giving serious consideration to  
taking the Imperial offer of a job (it seemed the Empire paid its officers a  
whole lot better then the Alliance did) with his current rank maintained, and  
a full pension after that. After he retired he and Anna would be able to  
afford a nice estate, somewhere "historical" enough to suit Anna's taste.

Hmmm, maybe somewhere around the Mediterrean, a vineyard and a nice  
_domus _equipped with a private bath house - all in classical Roman style.  
Resting in the shade of the olive trees, while the children played in the  
garden. Ah yes, that would be the life...

Just in case, he decided to check the real estate prices.

**…**

Another thing that set the Terran Empire apart from Earth Alliance were the  
taxes. Amazingly, throughout the Empire everybody paid the same Imperial  
Income Tax. Local taxes varied, but the income tax rate was flat, low, and  
everywhere the same. Everywhere and for everyone, no matter if a private  
person, small business, or a megacorporation. And no tax cuts either. A  
world of a difference, considering in the Alliance colonies the average Joe  
gave a third of his income over to EarthDome, while the MegaCorps got  
their nice big tax cuts.

Sheridan wondered briefly how Mr. Edgars of Edgars Industries would take  
this. Being too old for the regular way, the guy had apparently had enough  
money and pull to secure himself and a few of his closest affiliates a ticket  
to safety, officially because "their knowledge, experience and management  
skills were of key importance" – some people were simply more equal then  
the rest.

In the Empire there was also very little poverty, as unemployment was  
unheard of. Contrary to the Alliance Earth Sector, as his home was now  
being referred to, this "Alpha Quadrant" sported an overabdundance of  
habitable planets, and the Empire was doing it's best to colonise each end  
every one of them.

The colonies provided raw and refined materials, and sucked in every set of  
spare hands they could, as those were needed for development – not only  
was there no unemployment, but some places actually suffered from labor  
shortages.

So the Imperials decided to un-thaw the Alliance evacuees, and offer them  
Imperial citizenship, along with jobs.

Along the way, Sheridan had bought about two dozen or so scientific  
publications handling in detail the history of both Earths in the Empire. Anna  
would love to study them, and it wouldn't hurt to educate himself a bit  
either.

And when speaking of history – the existence of multiple Earths was  
credited to an ancient nd mysterious race called the "Preservers". The fact  
that they either reshaped or completely created at least the three known,  
identical Sol systems was one thing.

And though it spoke of pretty much unimaginable power, something bugged  
him even more – all the evidence pointed to the fact, that until a certain  
point of divergence, each and every one of the three known Earths had  
identical history. Absolutely identical, each and every detail fitted. Now  
how the hell did they manage to pull that one off?

Running idea among the Imperial scientists was something called "temporal  
displacement". While Sheridan had decided to quit after just the first three  
pages of "Introduction to Temporal Mechanics", still, everything pointed to  
the conclusion, that for reasons unknown, somebody had invested an  
unbelievable amount of work and efforts into preserving humanity. The big  
questions were, who exactly, and why ?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

Captain Julii watched as the jump point slowly formed ahead of his ship.  
The Earth Alliance's form of travel through the so called "hyper-space" had  
had the Empire's R&D pulling triple shifts for well over a month now.

The jump engines were undoubtedly the most valuable system the EA had  
to offer. Already upgrades were being planned for the fleet, but that was  
still months away. Until then, the assistance of EarthForce vessels had  
allowed several Imperial ships to enter Hyperspace and take extensive  
sensor readings. Hyperspace appeared to be just one of the literally infinite  
amount of layers of subspace. Traveling through it allowed ships to move  
at incredible speeds while technically still at sublight. Warp drive did not  
function in hyperspace due to the intense gravitational currents and other  
distortions which prevent the forming of a stabile warp field. In theory a  
quad-nacelled ship would be able to generate a strong enough subspace  
field.

Once mastered, alone the economic benefits of hyperspace would be  
tremendous, not to mention it pushed the theoretical research into  
completely new, previously never considered directions. The only catch  
was the need of the fuel known as Quantium 40 to open the jump points,  
though R&D was working on ways around the problem.

What they had managed already was a limited amount of communication  
between hyperspace and normal space. They could also track and scan  
objects with significant mass, like stars and planets, with much better  
results and from much larger distances then the Alliance sensor systems  
could, up to a point where they could determine the exact mass of the  
object in question. With detailed star-charts of normal space, this would  
allow to travel without the aid of the beacon system, for as long as they  
knew the mass of the objects in the adjacent normal space, they could  
calculate their position in hyperspace by relation to them.

All of would require further research and refinement though, before the  
label "approved for service" could be applied, and they had yet to discover  
a way to perform a real-time scan of normal space from hyperspace, or the  
other way around.

**…**

"The jump point is stable," Commander Delia Troi reported.

As a member of Betazed's royal family, she had chosen Captain Julii's ship  
out of hundreds of candidates. She had never openly announced her  
reasons for selecting the _Red Dawn, _but her abilities as a Commander and  
an interrogator were exceptional. And her personal affairs were nobody's  
business.

"We have received clearance to enter."

"Very well, plot a course in and head for the grav current," Captain Julii  
responded.

His squadron had been chosen for scouting the Earth Alliance's territory  
and establishing contact with the Ark colonies. A second group, under  
Captain Bethany Hallsbright, had been tasked with scouting the alien  
empires in the local space. Each squadron consisted of the usual  
one Conquistador-class heavy cruiser escorted by two Crusader-class light  
cruisers, and for the covert part had been added a Section 31  
Phantom-class scout/surveillance vessel.

Section 31 was the elite intelligence / covert ops arm of the Empire. While  
technically part of the fleet, under emergency conditions they could take  
command of a task force and even execute those they found guilty of  
crimes against the Empire. Still, most Section operatives were just as kind  
and dedicated as any fleet officer.

"Aye sir," Lt. Flavius replied. "Entering vortex now." The jump point  
enveloped the Terran vessels, depositing them into the shifting red and  
black realm of Hyperspace.

"Grav current two thousand kilometers ahead," Troi observed. "Contact in  
five seconds." The _Red Dawn _shook slightly as it entered the current. "Our  
speed is increasing. Structural integrity is holding."

"How long until we reach the other end?" Captain Julii asked.

"Using Captain Sheridan's journey as a measurement, at half impulse the  
journey should take approximately one week."

"That's a lot faster than we went," Tina Foster admitted as she entered  
the bridge. With the EA captains busy supervising the refits of their ships  
with Imperial technology, after the Empire decided to "invite" them into it's  
ranks, Sheridan had sent his first officer in his stead, while the other group  
was assigned the XO of the _Copernicus._ Tina would prove useful to the  
mission as she had been given the location of one of the Ark colonies and  
had knowledge of the races Julii was likely to encounter first.

"Our impulse engines allow us to travel much faster than your vessels," Julii  
informed the EA officer. "I've been looking over your reports on the various  
races in your sector. These Minbari would appear to be the largest threat,  
followed by the Centauri."

"I agree. Once we reach the Epsilon Gate we should head for Sol."

"That is my intention Ms. Foster. Our fleet will survey the Sol system  
before proceeding to the rest of your space, and then the first Ark colony.  
Tell me Ms. Foster, what is your personal opinion of the alien races in your  
sector?"

Lisa's face soured as her thoughts turned to the Centauri and the League  
of Non-Aligned Worlds.

"Traitors, turncoats, general purpose bastards, take your pick. Only the  
Narns helped us out with weapons, but they ripped us off in the process.  
We saved all of them during the Dilgar war, nearly got ourselves destroyed  
too. Then, just when we need them most, they turn away and leave us out  
in the cold. The Centauri, the race who initially introduced us to jump  
technology, gave us the information that led to the start of the war, then  
they turned away just like the others. Their ships are strong, and  
technology advanced. If they'd fought with us we could have at least  
fought the Minbari to a standstill. But they abandoned us, just like  
everyone else! If I could I'd space all of them!"

Lisa stopped when she realized she'd been ranting, but Captain Julii didn't seem bothered.  
"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

"I understand your anger. My sister was killed in a war with a species called  
the Romulans. After her death I felt just as you do. Believe me however  
when I say the Terran Empire takes care of its own. My world was brought  
into the Empire even though we were still technologically primitive, but we  
had skills, talents and traditions that were of value to the rest of the  
Empire. We played a crucial role in the program of reforms called the  
Reformation, which were conducted by Empress Sato about three years  
after her seizing the throne, some twenty-five years ago."

"The Reformation?" Lisa asked.

"Yes," Julii answered. "We brought in our statescraft, and over two  
thousand years worth of experience on how to forge and run an effective  
and lasting empire. Many of the ways of the New Order are based on our  
values and traditions. Even the Imperial Forces' _corps d'esprit_, as the other  
Terrans call it, comes from our Legions and our Navy. You may not believe  
it, but before that, the Imperials followed the ethos of a back-stabbing  
cutthroat. And now look at them. Your Earth Alliance can become a part of  
the Empire as well, and you will be protected from any threats."

"I'm sure the President would be interested in your offer," Lisa replied. Her  
stomach suddenly growled. "I think I'll get something to eat."

"Very well. The mess hall is located on deck 4; the computer can show you  
the way."

"Thanks." As Lisa left the bridge Lt. Bern, the second Betazoid on the ship,  
turned to the captain.

"Captain, something strange is happening. My telepathic senses appear to  
be increasing in power."

"What do you mean?" Julii asked. He knew of course Betazoids were strong  
telepaths, but no occurrences of sudden increases in range or level had  
ever been recorded.

"I can sense the minds on this ship much more clearly, and my range is  
much greater than it was a few minutes ago. Permission to report to the  
medical bay."

"Granted," Julii replied. "Perhaps it has something to do with this space.  
Have Dr. Kelsh run a complete neuroscan."

**…**

Over the next several days it was discovered that the energy in  
Hyperspace reacted with certain enzymes in the brain of a telepath,  
magnifying their abilities. The information was immediately sent back via a  
message drone to Terran High Command, where the bioscience researchers  
would begin analyzing it.

While traveling through Hyperspace there was next to nothing to do.  
Sensors on automatic took constant readings, mapping the currents and  
flows of Hyperspace so that later missions could travel further from the  
current. Captain Julii ran battle drills to keep the crew sharp. Lt. Foster  
participated and made an excellent temporary member of the crew. Once  
they returned to Terran space Julii intended to ask Captain Sheridan if he  
would be interested in an officer exchange program.

For the remainder of the journey the only things worth mentioning were the  
vivid dreams which plagued the telepaths on board. They described seeing  
storms of energy and light, black and golden vessels and other  
unexplainable images. Since the dreams were so similar Captain Julii  
assumed the energies of Hyperspace were the culprit once again.

**…**

Finally, after just over a week of monotonous travel, the beacon of the  
Epsilon gate came up on sensors.

"We're in range for jump," Commander Troi reported a few minutes later.

"Send the activation signal." The still slightly intimidating orange vortex  
opened and the Terran ships went through. They emerged in orbit of a  
dead planet with a bluish nebula visible in the distance.

"Tactical alert, sensors on full," Captain Julii commanded. "Are there any  
ships within sensor range?"

"None on sensors," Delia replied. "However I am getting unusual energy  
signatures from the planet. Our sensors are being deflected by a dampening  
field. Sir, it's confirmed – the system here is identical to the New Sparta  
system back home."

"All right, another mystery for us to solve - later." Julii replied. He had a  
schedule to adhere to. "Launch a probe for a full survey, and once  
complete set her to monitor local activities while staying far enough from  
the gate not to be discovered. Our main priority remains the Alliance Earth.  
Set course and engage at maximum warp."

The Terran starships appeared to stretch for a moment, then vanished in a  
series of flashes.

Below on the planet eyes were watching them, and considering what  
should be done.

**…**

Five days later, Captain Julii's fleet emerged just beyond Pluto orbit. They  
were observing silent running, with non critical systems shut down and the  
remaining ones at low power.

The stealth ship _Flicker _went in first. Captain Kithis glanced over the sensor  
data coming in. "No communications detected," he said to himself. "Take us  
in further. Any vessels on the sensors?"

"Detecting three unknown energy signatures near Lunar orbit, two big ships  
and one small," Kelis, the Andorian Ops officer replied, his antnnae moving  
slowly in circles.

"Captain, there are no life signs coming from either Earth or Mars. I am  
detecting significant tectonic activity on Earth as well. We are entering visual range."

"On screen," Captain Kithis ordered. "My god," he said. Earth's atmosphere  
was filled clouds of ashes and dust, ongoing volcanic eruptions with masses  
of molten lava surrounding them were the only things visible underneath.  
So much for the "blue planet".

But even Earth's image was obscured by the drifting wreckage of  
thousands of ships. "How many ships are out there?" Kithis

"Sensors cannot get an exact count due to the fragmentation of some of  
the debris, but I'd estimate at least 20,000 vessels, mainly Alliance fighters  
with a few dozen capships," Kelis replied.

"Scan for debris of composition other then the usual Alliance Earth alloys."

"Scanning now... Nothing significant sir. If the Minbari lost any ships then  
they must have cleaned up afterwards. Sir, I'm getting movement from the  
energy signatures, ships entering the debris field."

Captain Kithis watched as the vessels came closer. The two big ones were  
tall, thin ships with dull olive-green hulls, while the third was a small saucer  
with a dark gray body and an orange ring at the equator, and a set of  
cannons attached at the top and the bottom.

"ECM to full, get us into a dense part of the field. I don't want to take any  
chances," Kithis ordered.

He watched as the alien vessels launched shuttles and some sort of small  
utility crafts, which in turn began grabbing pieces of debris and hauling  
them aboard.

"Looters," he hissed. "Open a secure channel to Captain Julii."

Moment later the connection was made. "Julii here, report."

"Captain, we have the three vesselst on scopes. They're looting debris  
from the battlefield." He glanced at Kelis, who nodded twice.

"They have not detected us and their weapons are no threat. What are  
your orders?"

"Stand by," Captain Julii ordered, closing the link for a moment. "Get Ms.  
Foster up here," he ordered. She arrived a minute later, still rubbing sleep  
from her eyes.

"Yes Captain Julii?" She said. Her eyes, half closed with sleep, flashed open  
when she saw the image of Earth on the viewer. "My god," she whispered.  
"What happened here?"

"We're not certain, but three vessels are picking through the debris field."

The viewer changed to show two large olive-green vessels with large fins  
extending above and below, along with a small saucer shaped vessel with  
an orange ring attached to the edge of the hull.

"The big ships are Brakiri merchant cruisers, and the small one's a Vree  
ship. They're both members of the League," Lisa answered. "I suggest we  
disable and board them. Their databanks could tell us more about what  
happened here."

"We were going to do that anyway" Captain Julii replied. He reopened the  
link to the _Flicker. _"Captain Kithis, maintain your position. We will move in  
and deal with the vessels."

"Understood," Kithis replied. "Helm, maintain our position."

"Understood," Lt. Hirie replied.

**…**

The _Red Dawn _warped in barely a hundred kilometers from the closest ship,  
her weapons spitting angry blue beams of energy into the hull of the Brakiri  
vessel, first removing the comm array, then cutting through its armor and  
knocking its main reactor off-line in seconds.

The second vessel began turning toward the _Dawn, _her gun ports opening,  
but a second phaser strike quickly put an end to her efforts. The Vree ship  
moved faster, its gravimetric engines pushing it forward while its six ion  
cannons sent streams of green pulses into the darting Terran vessel.

"Shields down to ninety-seven percent," Kelis reported. "No other damage.  
The Vree ship appears to be using some sort of inertia-less drive system. I  
suggest we capture it intact for later analysis."

"Very well; set phaser banks accordingly and target the vessel's power  
matrix," Captain Julii ordered.

The forward phaser banks fired again, the blasts noticeably dimmer this  
time. The Vree vessel narrowly dodged the first salvo, but the second and  
third volleys ripped into the Vree saucer, sending it spinning until a tractor  
beam caught it and coasted it to a stop.

"Lock transporters and beam the bridge crews of those ships to the brig.  
Be sure to scan them for unknown weapons. As for the rest…"

"Space'em," Lt. Foster suggested, her eyes still fixed on Earth in the  
distance. "Their bridge crews and computers will provide you with all  
information you need."

"Good idea Lieutenant, but floating bodies might attract attention, should  
anybody come here later. And our priority is stealth." Captain Julii  
responded.

Commander Troi could pick up the EarthForce officer's thoughts very  
clearly. She knew the woman was in the thrall of rage, and that if not  
released here, it could build up and eventually overwhelm her. Maybe she  
should interrogate a few of them, just to let it out. She sent a silent  
mental suggestion to her _Imzadi._

"Mr. Flavius, activate transporters," the Captain ordered "beam the bridge  
crews into our brig. Disperse the patterns of the rest."

"Aye sir," Flavius replied, his fingers condemning dozens to death in  
seconds. "Transport complete."

"I believe I will pay a visit to our newest guests. Ms. Foster, would you  
care to join me?"

"I would, thank you Captain."

As the pair entered the turbo lift, Julii turned to Troi. "Commander, I may  
have need of your interrogation skills later at the Agony Booth."

"Of course Captain," Troi replied. "I'll be ready."

**…**

Captain Julii and Lt. Foster entered the brig and found it packed with a  
dozen Brakiri and several Vree. All of them were confused and one was  
lying on his back, stunned.

"He was getting violent with the force field," one of the security personnel  
said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Who's the leader?" Julii asked.

"I am," one of the Brakiri said, a trickle of blood running from his split lip. "I  
demand to know who you are and your reason for attacking us, and what  
happened to the rest of our crews" he stated in a calm voice.

Lt. Foster stalked forward.

"Our reason for attacking you, you bastard, is that you were found looting  
EarthForce property. Now, if you-" she was cut off as the Brakiri began  
laughing.

"EarthForce? What are you talking about? Your empire doesn't exist  
anymore. After the Minbari were finished with your homeworld the rest of  
us came to help those remaining. But we don't work for free," the Brakiri  
replied, a smile beginning to form on his face.

"Why you mother-f"

"I think that's enough Ms. Foster," Captain Julii interrupted. "Now Brakiri,  
your crews have been well taken care of, and you will tell me everything I  
want to know. Do this and all of you may yet live."

"Our friends will come for us soon, and when they do, it will be you begging  
for mercy."

Captain Julii smiled. "We will see. Take him to the Agony Booth. We'll see  
how long you can last." The Brakiri was beamed away, to the intense  
surprise of the rest of the Brakiri and the curiosity of the Vree.

"Ms. Foster, would you care to observe the interrogation?" The Lieutenant  
simply nodded and followed the Captain, her own smile forming on her face.

Soon she would make a proper Imperial, Captain Julii thought to himself.  
Already she was getting "the hang of it".

The Brakiri gave him an idea though, and he decided to search the debris  
field for any Earth Alliance data recorders from the destroyed ships – those  
would prove a valuable source of information.

**…**

The _Flicker _slowly passed over the North American continent, its sensors  
searching every meter for any surviving people or structures.

"Nothing on the western coast, moving inland," Kelis called out. He could  
feel the anger simmering on the bridge. The Earth below may not have  
been one of the two "perfect" Earths in the Empire, but it was still an  
Earth. Suddenly his sensors picked up a return.

"I'm detecting life signs. Twelve hundred meters underground, below the  
Rocky Mountains. Approximately forty thousand. They appear to be in  
bunkers of some kind."

"Alert Captain Julii, and continue scanning the planet."

Over the next several hours nearly three hundred thousand people were  
found to have survived, scattered across the planet in bunkers originally  
built for World War 3. Aside from the Rocky Mountains, bunkers were  
detected built into the Alps, the Himalayas and under several other  
mountain ranges. Originally built to defend mankind from themselves, now  
they had helped humanity survive once again, this time from alien  
aggression.

**…**

The Brakiri screamed in agony as liquid pain raced along his nerves. The  
pain was always shifting, never staying still long enough for him to try to  
block it out. The demon woman had been the worst part. Her pure black  
eyes had seemed to increase his pain three fold, and seconds of torment  
had seemed to stretch into hours of agony. He had met several human  
telepaths in his time, but none of them had been half as cruel as the  
demon woman. He'd told her everything and more, he was ashamed to  
admit, but they hadn't stopped the pain.

He managed to open his eyes just long enough to see another human  
woman staring at him, a half smile on her face. She wore the uniform of an  
EarthForce officer rather than the black and crimson clothing the others  
dressed in. A terrible thought entered the Brakiri's mind. What if the  
humans had found allies outside of known space? What if they were even  
now preparing to strike back against the League? Somehow he had to get  
word out. Those thoughts were driven from him the second they came, as  
the intensity of the pain increased.

Lisa watched the Brakiri writhe in agony. Part of her was appalled by the  
act, but another part, the one that had seen everyone she'd ever cared  
about die, was enjoying it.

She was about to go when Captain Julii entered the room. "Captain," she  
said, snapping a salute which Julii returned. He was smiling, an expression  
Lisa had seldom seen him make.

"We've detected survivors on Earth," Julii said. "They are located in  
bunkers scattered across various mountain ranges. As we do not have the  
capacity or provisions to transport them at this time, we intend to leave  
them where they are until mass transport vessels can arrive. Several of the  
bunkers appear to have been damaged however, and their occupants will  
not survive for long. We are transporting them to the Brakiri vessels and  
placing them in a comatose state. The wounded we are bringing here for  
treatment."

Lisa's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could it be possible? "Captain," she  
asked. "Are any of the damaged bunkers located on the North American  
continent?"

"Yes, many of them are being brought here as those bunkers are in the  
worst shape. I'm still waiting for the full report, but North America seems to  
have sustained the most damage."

Lisa tore out of the room before Julii could say anymore. She headed  
straight for the main cargo bay. She fidgeted as she waited for the door to  
open, then rushed inside, searching for that one face she hope she would  
see; that one head of white hair. She could have been on one of the Brakiri  
ships, but the chance was still there.

She stepped out of the way of a medical team, then ran her eyes over  
every meter of the bay. More were beamed in, mostly young children and a  
few adults. Many of them were covered in dust and blood from cuts, and  
several looked to have broken bones. Then she spotted a flash of white  
behind a group of men. The figure turned and for a moment Lisa's heart  
stopped. An old, withered face came into view, a face Lisa knew.

"GRANDMA!" Lisa cried out, drawing the attention of every pair of eyes in  
the cargo bay. The old woman turned, and after a moment recognition  
dawned in her eyes.

"Lisa?" The old woman asked. She had a nasty looking cut running down  
her left cheek and her cloths were torn, but other than that she appeared  
uninjured.

Lisa enveloped her grandmother in a hug, nearly crushing the life out of  
her. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I thought you were dead!"

"I very nearly was Lisa," Margret Foster replied, wrapping her own arms  
around her granddaughter. "Fortunately I was near a transit station when  
the bombardment began. A group of us managed to make it to one of the  
emergency shelters before..."

"Everything's going to be ok now Grandma. We've found new allies who are  
going to save us all from the Minbari. Come on, let's get you fixed up."

She helped her grandmother across the cargo bay floor, stepping cautiously  
over prone bodies. Several people were dead by now, their injuries too  
severe. Finally they came across a medic who had just finished healing a  
young girl's torn stomach. "Sir, can you please help my grandmother?"

"Of course," the young man replied. He ran a medical tricorder down  
Margret's body and consulted the readings. "Your grandmother has a few  
bruises, but other than that cut she appears fine."

He ran a dermal regenerator over Margret's cut, and by the fifth pass it  
was completely healed. Lisa watched intently.

"Amazing," Lisa breathed. The capabilities of the Terran Empire continued  
to amaze her.

"You're free to go," the medic told Margret. "Ms…Foster," he said, reading  
her I.D. badge. "We have a lot of wounded here. We could use your help."

As he spoke another batch of wounded were beamed into the last clear  
section of the cargo bay. Many looked to be in bad shape.

"Go on dear," Margret encouraged. "I'll go and rest for a while. You help  
out here. When you're through we can talk."

"Of course. I'll be along soon Grandma," Lisa replied.

As her grandmother walked away the medic handed her a kit. "You can  
start by using the dermal regenerator I showed you on the non critical  
patients. That will free up more hands to assist the badly hurt arrivals."

Lisa nodded and hurried off. She stopped in front of a young boy with a  
deep shoulder gash. An older girl, his sister Lisa assumed, held him.

"Hey, my name's Lisa. Let me see that." She took the young boy's arm and  
slowly waved the medical instrument over it.

"Thank you," the boy said when she was done.

Lisa smiled back. "You're welcome." She took the medical tricrorder from  
the case and ran the standard scan for infections. It came back negative.

"Can you find our Mom? She was in the shelter with us," she girl said.

"I'm sure she's fine. She's on another ship right now, but I promise you'll  
see her soon.

"Ok," the girl replied. "My name's Rebecca by the way."

"I'll see you both later, but right now I've got work to do." As Lisa moved  
on to her next patient, she felt happier than she had in months. Her  
grandmother was alive, their new allies had all the power needed to make  
the Minbari pay, and she was even helping to save survivors from Earth.  
Things were finally beginning to look up. But the injured around her made  
her realize there was still a long way to go. "I won't give up," she vowed to  
herself. She would see to it that those two kids, and the rest of mankind,  
never feared extinction again, no matter what it took.

**…**

Captain Julii was reading through status reports when his console  
activated, signaling an incoming transmission. He placed his palm on the  
DNA reader and a display popped up, displaying the face and upper chest  
of Captain Kithis. "Captain Kithis, what's your status?"

"We've completed our scans of the system. Aside from Earth, it appears  
there are no Terran survivors. It appears the Minbari used Earth's own  
geology, striking the various hotspots, to inflict the bulk of the damage.  
The Yellowstone Caldera took a hell of a beating – this is where the  
volcanic ashes over the northern hemisphere come from, the entirety of  
North America is covered in it. They also struck a lot of both active and  
dormant volcanoes, geological shears and faults, and further along those  
lines."

"I see." Captain Julii answered.

"We didn't detect much of radiation-inflicted damage though – the only  
area that got repeatedly nuked is around Geneva, where that "EarthDome"  
of theirs used to be. By the current state of the atmosphere and the  
amount of volcanic eruptions, most of the people simply suffocated, or died  
during the earthquakes. Those took out a lot of makeshift bunkers as well;  
it appears only the really robust ones survived."

"Prognosis?"

"The volcanic eruptions and tectonic activities are still continuing, and will  
do so for at least the next decade, if the computer models are to be  
believed. At this point the air is no longer breathable. By the amount of  
ashes and dust in the atmosphere, we're looking at a volcanic winter for  
the next century and a half, and a new ice age once the dust settles."

"Anything else of interest?" Julii asked.

"Other then that, we did not find any data recorders. Either all were  
destroyed in the fighting, or somebody had the same idea before us.  
However, we have detected some type of a vessel buried below the  
surface of Mars around Syria Planum, and another one on Ganymede. They  
both appear to be organic and are inactive. That's all we can tell."

"I see. I'll add that to my report to Command. Once we're finished we'll set  
a course for the Proxima system to take a look at what the Centauri are up to,  
and from there to the Ark. Our "guests" told us that after they were finished  
with the Sol system, the Minbari had announced the war was over. Humans  
outside Sol were allowed to live. The extra-Solar colonies had been taken  
over by the local powers, mainly the Narns and the Centauri, who bewteen  
them took about three-quarters of what's left of the Alliance. The League took the rest.  
I've decided to send the captured ships along with the rescued survivors  
back to our space, for which task we'll need to lend one of Captain  
Hallsbright's Crusaders. Once the shipment is away, we'll proceed as  
planned."

"Understood sir. _Flicker _out."

**…**

Captain Julii opened a drawer near the bottom of his desk and took out a  
bottle of the genuine, blue Romulan Ale. Since their homeworld had been  
taken care of with nerve gas, the drink had become very rare. Terrans just  
didn't have the knack for making the stuff. He poured a small amount into a  
glass and toasted the stars.

"To the future of humanity," he said before allowing the liquid to burn its  
way down his throat.

Much still remained to be done, but the first steps had been taken. Soon  
the Terran Empire would reshape the face of the galaxy, transforming it  
into a place of peace and order for all species.

The road would be long and hard as it always had, but humanity's resolve,  
and that of her allies, would never falter. It couldn't, for the Terran Empire  
was the galaxy's last, best hope for peace, and soon enough _Pax Imperia _  
would reign supreme.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

Captain Kenith Sulacko awoke to the piercing shrill of the computer's wake up  
call. "All right all right, I'm up," he yawned. Only three yours of sleep was  
standard for Section 31 personnel, but it still took a few moments to shrug off  
the comforting feeling of unconsciousness. He pushed off the sheets of his  
small bed and grabbed his uniform out of reflex. He had it halfway on before  
he was even fully awake. "Enira, report."

"We are currently one hour out from the human colony of Proxima near what  
is now the Centauri border. We will drop out of warp at the edge of the   
system and move in under maximum stealth. At least, that's what you told  
me," the AI named Enira responded "Your usual breakfast is already waiting in  
the resequncer for you." 

"Thanks" Kenith replied. Enira was the latest in artificial intelligence. Between  
her android body and a part of her controlling the ship's main computer, she  
could run the entire ship on her own, and in combat she could manipulate the   
shields with enough precision that they could take twice the usual damage.  
She also had a fairly likeable personality. 

Kenith quickly downed his eggs and orange juice before pulling on his boots  
and heading for the bridge. The slightly cramped corridors of the stealth ship  
Eclipse were something which took some getting used to. As most of the  
internal space was filled with sensor equipment, spare parts, long range  
sensor probes and extra fuel there wasn't a lot left for personal comforts.  
Even the turbolift was small, with only enough room for two people, three if  
they were willing to get up close and personal.

When the lift arrived at the bridge the captain was pleased to find everything  
in perfect order. Terran ships often held contests to see who had the best  
reaction times and crew performance. The Eclipse, though still fairly new, only  
having been in space for a little over a year, was already ranked in the top   
third of the fleet. Commander Emily Stiles, Kenith's XO, turned and handed  
him to duty roster. "I've already taken the liberty of selecting the surveillance  
team, but you can change it if you wish."

"You made the perfect selection as usual Emily," Captain Sulacko replied with  
a smile. "So, learned anything new about our destination while I was  
sleeping?"

"Not much; Proxima was one of the Earth Alliance's major colonies and is   
currently under the rule of one of the dominant houses of the Centauri  
Republic. Long range scans have picked up about twelve ships in the system,  
though we won't be able to get a detailed scan until we get closer."

"All right, continue long range scans. Once we get to the edge of the system  
we'll engage the holoshroud system and get close enough to the planet to  
beam the team down. Their objectives will be to gather as much data on the   
Centauri and the state of affairs on any other former Earth Alliance colonies  
under their rule. They should also try to secure samples of Centauri  
technology. Never know what we might be able to do with it. At all costs  
they are to avoid detection." 

"Understood Captain. Kenith, you know I included Elise because of the  
possibility of telepaths down there. Are you sure you want her?"

"I'm sure," Kenith replied. His XO was referring to the Betazoid black ops  
member assigned to the Eclipse. One was stationed on every Section vessel  
in case they ran into a situation too hot for regular troopers. They were  
feared and respected for their abilities, but their personalities were often   
unpredictable and when off duty they kept to themselves. "We may need her  
if the landing party is in danger of being scanned. Besides, you know how she  
gets when she's on a ship for more than three weeks with nothing to do."

"I remember," Stiles replied, remembering the Engineering ensign who had had  
some of his more secret and kinky fantasies about several crew members   
broadcasted to the entire ship when he'd refused to have dinner with Elise. "I  
guess we have no choice," she sighed.

…

The Eclipse dropped out of warp at the edge of the system. As soon as it   
dropped out warp its hull shimmered, making the ship appear to vanish as  
holo-emitters mounted on the hull projected images of the surrounding space  
over it. Sensor masking materials absorbed stray energy and the small  
deflector dish on the secondary hull shifted color from blue to purple as it  
changed from generating navigational shields to absorbing the tachyon  
emissions common to the sensors in this sector.

"What I wouldn't give for a true cloak," Kenith said to himself.

"We'll get one eventually..." - Commander Stiles replied, "... and a friend of   
mine over at R&D says they're close to perfecting the thing."

The data gained from the USS Defiant had given the Empire some good ideas,  
but as always, good things took time.

"Well they've been telling this for what... Three years?" Kenith replied. "Still,  
this is the kind of thing we've been trained for. Nothing to worry about."

"Detecting two ships coming in our direction," Ensign Martes called from the   
ops station, her brown hair waving slightly as her shoulders moved. Martes  
came from Los Angeles California and had adopted her long hairstyle there.  
She had been voted most attractive women on the ship in an unofficial poll.

"The Vree database identifies them as Vorchan class attack cruisers.  
Initiating covert scan… These ships are definitely more advanced than the   
Earth Alliance vessels. I'm reading an anti-matter reactor as well as fusion  
plants. Each ship is armed with two plasma projector weapons and numerous  
smaller weapons, likely point or antifighter defence. There also seems to be  
some sort of gravitic field around the hull. It could be their equivalent of a  
shield, but I'd have to run an active scan to be sure. A third vessel of the  
same type is orbiting the planet. Along with a... "Primus" class, apparently  
their main big ship."

"We'll hold off on that for now. Have they detected us?"

"Negative on that one sir. The stealth suite is doing its job. They should miss   
us by about fifty thousand kilometers."

"Alter our course to take us two hundred thousand kilometers off their path. I  
don't want to chance a lucky observer seeing our shadow."

The "shadow" was the slight ripple in space the holoshroud generated. The  
faster a ship moved the more noticeable it was. "Slow us to one quarter  
impulse helm."

"Aye, sir," Lt. Talar called from the helm. In the dim light of stealth mode the  
Andorian female's skin appeared nearly black.

"We'll be within transporter range in fifteen minutes," Martes reported.  
"All right then, have the insertion team report to the transporter room," the  
captain replied. "And tell them to be careful down there." 

…

Carl Hutre slipped his knife into his boot sheath. The four other members of  
his team were all gathered around him on the transporter pad. "Everyone  
ready?"

"Ready and waiting," Jack Gorno answered, his freckled face betraying the   
excitement he was feeling. He was the team's combat expert and a master of  
four different marshal arts.

"Just remember Jack, we're on a stealth mission."

"I know. I'm a pro, remember?"

"We all know that," Sarah Derin replied. The team's data specialist was a  
fairly short, thin woman. Her brown hair and green eyes made her seem  
non-threatening, as did the round lensed glasses she wore. Though seemingly  
nothing special, they contained the latest advancements in micro circuitry   
and scanning technologies. She typically carried a large backpack with her  
gear crammed inside, but for this mission she was making do with a precious  
few gadgets carried in hidden pockets in her baggy brown pants. The  
infiltration team were all wearing civilian clothing tailored after the patterns  
taken from the EarthForce ships before they had left New Sparta.

"I'm ready as well," came a quite voice from the back of the group. Elise was  
the Betazoid infiltrator. Once the team beamed down she would protect them  
from telepathic scans and enable to team to move more freely by confusing  
people nearby. She was usually quiet and barely noticeable, but when called  
on to fight she could be a terror. Rumors had it she was one of a few gifted  
enough to wield one of the ancient Vulcan psi weapons known as Death  
Stones of Gol.

"Let's do it," Henry Hickum, the team's recon expert said. He was the largest  
of the group at 6'7. His large frame was covered with muscle and he looked  
very much like a bodyguard, which was the role he would be playing on the  
surface. 

"Ok then, let's get this show on the road. Now, everyone remember, we're  
just innocent citizens from off-world. If anyone asks where you come from or  
what your business is, make something plausible up. All right? Good, energize  
when ready Chief," Carl said.

"Good luck," Chief Neren replied as he began the transport. "Bring me back  
something nice." 

…

Carl and his team materialized in an abandoned ally. Henry swept a tricorder  
around, taking quick readings. "No one close to us," he reported.

"There are no minds near us," Elise confirmed, sweeping the surrounding  
space with her mind, being careful in case there were telepaths near.

"According to the scans we're right where we're supposed to be, near the   
main marketplace for the colony. We should split up into teams and gather  
whatever intel we can."

"All right," Carl agreed. "Jack, Sarah, take Elise and find a data terminal.   
Sarah, get all the info you can without being detected. Henry, you come with  
me. Let's find a bar."

"You got it sir," the muscled man replied.

"Elise," Carl warned as the teams split. "Keep a mental eye out for any  
telepaths. I doubt they'd frequent a bar, but you never know who you'll find   
on a crowded street."

"I understand sir," Elise replied. Her black eyes had been covered by green  
contacts to make her less noticeable. "There is significant mental noise in the  
street. I will call you if I detect anything important." 

"All right, let's get to work." The teams split up, each heading in opposite  
directions.

…

Carl and Henry took their time browsing the market, pretending to be   
interested in the food and knickknacks most of the vendors were selling. Carl  
already had a few credit chits he'd pulled from the pockets of various  
pedestrians. It was one of the basic skills taught at the Section academy. In  
addition all of them had some of the credits from at least half a dozen races  
they'd liberated from the Drazi and Brakiri vessels and crews captured at Sol.

Those aliens had turned out to be gun runners and smugglers, who, almost  
per definition, preferred to deal in cash. Henry paused as he spotted a pair of  
security troops ahead. They were guarding what appeared to be the entrance  
to an office building.

"Let's take a side street," Carl suggested, getting a nod from Henry in reply.

As they made their way down a trash strewn ally something moved. Both men  
drew their phasers. "Hold it right there!"

"Hey, hey. No need for guns. I just thought you boys might be interested in  
some 'unofficial' goods," the man said with a thick Russian accent, giving a  
smile which creased the dirt lining his face. Other than his face, his body was  
covered in a brown robe which served to help him hide among the trash bags  
and cardboard boxes which lined the ally. One large box ten meters away had  
a sheet draped over the front with a small electric stove humming a short  
distance away.

"Depends, what do you have?" Henry asked, giving the man one of his better  
stares. The man looked away and grabbed a bundle of fabric, flinging it open  
to reveal several weapons, knives and an assortment of other items.

"PPG's, knives, data on Centauri troop numbers and patrol schedules, you  
name it."

"How much for the troop data and the location of a good drinking spot?" Carl  
asked, his face giving the impression he was intrigued, which he was.

The man smiled. "Three hundred credits."

"One hundred," Carl bartered.

"Two hundred, any less and I won't be able to get food."

"How about one fifty and I don't break your face?" Henry suggested, taking a  
step forward before Carl placed his hand on the big man's shoulder.

"No need to get aggressive, yet," Carl said.

"How about one seventy and we call it a deal?" The man replied.

"All right." Carl reached into his bad and withdrew a fistful of Brakiri credits.

The man grabbed them quickly and stuffed them into his pocket, flicking a  
data crystal to Carl at the same time.

"Now, about that bar."

"Ah yes. Head down Kernel Street to the junction of Marduk and Preet. You'll  
see a green sign for pizza. Head down the ally opposite it and you'll find a  
place called the Red Comet. Best beer on planet since the Centauri took most  
of the good stuff." 

"Thanks," Carl said as he and Henry hurried off. After they'd left, Alfred  
Bester retrieved a PPG from his robe and prepared to move. His brief surface  
scan of the two men had shown that their mental shields were really good for  
mundanes, so they were probably used to be around telepaths. But of  
course, he wasn't among the Corps' best of the best just because of his   
charming personality, and he did managed to find out something almost  
unbelievable - they were humans from outside of Known Space. A most  
startling development. He had to find a way off planet and make contact with  
the remnants of the PsiCorps. They just had to know about this.

…

Jack, Sara and Elise made their way down the row of vendor stalls. Elise was  
picking through the casual thoughts of the vendors. One pocket of her grey   
jacket was visibly bulging with currency. The sight of it brought up thoughts  
of items some vendors wouldn't otherwise say they had. At present Elise was  
haggling with an old man selling jewelry.

"And this one would look perfect on you. Only twelve hundred credits," the  
man enticed, holding up a ruby pendant. Elise looked interested, but in  
actuality her training had removed most of her feminine desires, including  
fashion. What she was interested in were his thoughts about a hidden stash  
of loot from a recent robbery.

"Oh, it looks so nice, but I'm three hundred short," Elise replied in a sad tone.

"Well, come back when you some more credits. I might still have it." 

"OK, thank you," Elise cooed. The three agents slipped inside a restroom  
which was thankfully empty. "Please don't make me do that again," the  
telepath said in an annoyed tone. 

"What did you find?" Sara asked.

"He was thinking about a stash of stolen jewelry a few blocks from here. I've   
also been able to compile enough thoughts to ascertain that the people here  
aren't all that happy with the Centauri occupation. They're treated fairly well,  
but their forbidden from owning weapons, it takes a lot to get off planet and  
there are regular searches for resistance members. Also, there have been a  
lot of reports of people going missing, mostly homeless. Some people think the  
Centauri are doing it, taking them to be used as slave labor or even sold  
off-world."

"All right, keep a watch for more thoughts like those," Jack said. "Sara,  
across the street I spotted what looked like a cyber café. You should be able  
to hack your way into the planetary datanet from there." 

"Sounds good," Sara replied, adjusting her glasses. I'll attract less attention  
alone. Elise, Jack, you two follow in a few minutes. Take a table where you  
can see me but don't attract attention. Get yourselves something to eat and  
try to start some conversations if you can. Elise, covert scans as usual. If   
you sense anyone threatening let us know."

"As you wish," the Betazoid replied, rubbing one eye as the contact had been  
starting to itch.

…

Henry and Carl entered the bar know as the Red Comet. The room was  
chocked with smoke and filled with the scent of unwashed bodies. The two  
men took a pair of unoccupied stools by the bar. An old man a long scar  
running down one cheek turned and regarded them. "What'll it be?"

"A beer for me," Henry replied.

"Whisky on the rocks," Carl answered.

"You two here together?" The barkeep asked.

"Yeah, our ship got grounded when the Centauri came. We've been drifting  
around ever since."

"I hear ya. Damn Centauri; say their treatin' us good, but all they're doin' is  
stripping everything they can and to hell with us when they're done."

"We heard something about people going missing when we got into town,"  
Henry said.

The barkeep frowned. "Ten people in the last moth, and that's just in this  
city. Rumor's got it that people are goin' missing all across the colony. If ya  
ask me Kiro's behind it."

"What makes you say that?" Carl asked.

"He claims it's the work or resistance fighters, but if I wanted to drive the  
Centauri off, I'd target THEIR people. Plus if he really was tryin' to find   
whoever's behind this he'd have done it by now." 

"Probably right," Henry said, finishing off his beer. "So, tell me, how much do  
you know about this Kiro guy?"

…

Sarah took a seat at a corner table with a view of the street and where the  
sun was beginning to glare on the screen. That was when her glasses came  
into use. They darkened just enough to let her see the screen clearly. She  
reached into her pocket and dragged a thin silver wire from within. She  
hooked one end to the joint of her glasses and the other to the terminal in   
front of her. For a brief moment a clear screen flickered on the lens of her  
glasses, then a text box opened. "STANDING BY AGENT SARA." With the relay  
in the portable terminal she carried, Sara could establish a remote link to  
Enira aboard the Eclipse. Using a wireless connection, Sara could perform one  
search on her glasses while doing a second, decoy search on the actual  
computer she was using.

"Begin searching for data regarding the Centauri occupation, paying special  
attention to classified files. Also look for data on disappearances in the last  
two weeks," Sara typed back. "Anything happening in orbit?"

"A FEW CARGO SHIPS, NOTHING INTERESTING. THE SEARCH WILL TAKE A  
WHILE, PLEASE STAND BY."

"Can I get you something Miss?" A polite voice asked. Sara looked up and saw  
a man wearing a green shirt and black pants standing to her side, a pencil  
and notepad in hand.

"Oh sorry, I didn't see you. Decaf coffee and a cherry filled doughnut please."  
"Good choice; I'll be right back," the man replied.

As Sara pretended to surf the information net, she noticed Elise stiffening.

"Elise, what's wrong?" Sarah asked, sending her thoughts toward the   
Betazoid. When listening, Elsie could pick up transmitted thoughts, a very  
useful skill when you might be being watched. 

"A telepath is approaching. Coming in here," Elise replied, her mind voice  
leaving a slight echo after her words. "She is relatively low level. I can block  
her scans of our minds without alerting her, though you may wish to think  
thoughts which won't attract attention."

Sara nodded and turned back to her computer. She called up some music files  
and took a pair of headphones from her pants pocket. She played a heavy  
metal track and let the screaming voices and pounding noise fill her mind. She  
smirked when she saw Elise briefly grimace. She looked over to the door and  
saw a middle aged woman walk in. She wore slightly worn street cloths, but  
what caught Sara's attention was the PsiCorps insignia on her shirt.

Elise ran a careful scan on the woman, being very careful to avoid her  
senses. One skill most average Betazoids never used was the ability to  
visualize the telepathic senses of others. Everyone saw something different.  
To Elise it appeared as a cloud of silver fog with tendrils of awareness flashing  
here and there. Her own probes took the appearance of black tendrils,  
reaching through the gaps in the fog. She twisted and parted her probes,  
narrowly avoiding detection several times. 

…

Erica Clouse took a seat near the corner of the café, logging onto the  
planetary datanet and searching for any jobs requiring a commercial telepath.

The Centauri ran a lot of cargo through the system, and being a  
commercial-oriented P-5, she was making a decent profit. She noticed one of  
the customers staring at her, but she was used to it and simply turned her  
back. The woman's eyes were cold and gave her a chill. She found several job  
offers and started sifting through them. "Two hundred credits. Not bad," she  
said at the third offer, observing a cargo deal. "With this I can finally get my  
own apartment and move out of Jack's place." Suddenly she felt something in  
her mind. Someone was scanning her!

"Can I get you something Miss?" A voice said in Elise's ear. She lost her focus  
for a moment and cursed to herself as she felt the human telepath detect  
her. She had to act fast. She focused, gathering her strength and sending a  
massive bolt of psychic energy into the human's mind, causing her to cry out  
and faint. "Oh my god! Are you all right!" Elise cried out, hurrying over. The   
woman was limp and her eyes were rolled back. "We have to get her to a  
hospital!"

"There's a clinic just down the street," a man suggested.

"Thanks, can you give me a hand?" Elisa asked. The man nodded and  
together they took the woman and carried her out the door. They hurried  
down the street when Elise pretended to loose her footing, causing her  
partner to stumble and enter an ally. Elsie released her grip on the woman's   
legs and in a flash reached out and gave her partner a Vulcan nerve pinch. As  
he crumpled to the floor Elise drew a communicator. "Elise to Eclipse. We've  
run into a slight snag. Three to beam up."

"Stand by," came the reply, and a moment Elise felt the familiar tingle of the  
transporter. A moment later she was standing in the Eclipse's transporter  
room, three phaser rifles aimed at the pad.

"Who are they ?" Captain Sulacko asked, pointing to the human woman.

"A telepath sir. She detected me and I had no choice. The guy was only   
helping me carry her, but I couldn't leave witnesses."

"Where is the rest of the team?"

"Still on the surface Captain. I am ready to rejoin them immediately."

"Take our guests to sickbay and keep them sedated, I'll question them later."   
Captain Sulacko ordered. "Agent Elise, return to your team and be certain  
they are not scanned by any other telepaths down there."

"As you command," Elise replied. "Set my coordinates for the alley where you  
beamed me from, but at the far end." As she beamed back Elise felt a surge  
of excitement. She had fought with another telepath and won, something she  
rarely had a chance to do. She had been inducted into the Section 31 Black   
Squad at a young age after suffering a mental breakdown, killing ten of her  
people on the Regula colony. Her dark side rarely showed itself, but when it  
did even her superiors stayed clear of her.

She materialized in the back of the ally she had beamed out from and quickly  
made her way back to the café. She noticed the manager looking up as she  
came in, so she gave him a smile. "She's going to be fine. Just suffered a  
lapse of mental control they said, too much stress apparently."

"That's good. Not good business if your customers start dropping as soon as   
they come into your place," the manager replied.

Elise nodded and took her former seat. She looked over to Sarah, who   
signaled that her search was complete. "We should leave," Elise suggested.  
Sarah nodded and walked out. Elise finished the order of coffee she had  
ordered and left as well. They both met up back across the street. "Did you  
get what you needed?" 

"Yep," Sara replied, adjusting her glasses. "The Centauri have four major  
military installations in this dome. Most of the good stuff is probably isolated  
on a separate system located in the Governor's mansion. We'll have to get  
that info the hard way."

"All right, let's meat back up with team one," Elise suggested. "We should see  
what they've found."

"They're that way," Sarah said confidently, pointing down the street. Her  
glasses could also pick up the signals from the subdermal transmitters the  
team members had. "Follow me."

"Whatever you say," Elise replied.

…

Captain Jurano of the Centauri Royal Battlecruiser Septimus signed off the  
cargo manifest and handed it to one of his officers. "How long until we're  
ready to get underway?" He asked.

"The last cargo shuttles are docking now Captain. Another ten minutes at  
the most," Goret Teree replied, his large belly rubbing slightly against his  
console.

"So far so good, then. Once the supplies are transferred set a course for  
the jump gate." 

"Understood sir I- Just a moment…Jump points forming, fourteen hundred  
kilometers away!"

"How many?" Captain Jurano demanded.

"Two," Goret replied, bringing the image up on the main screen. Two blue  
vortexes flashed into existence, the first one vomiting forth Narn ships,  
followed by human vessels from the second one.

"Captain, sensors are reading two Narn G'Quan-class heavy cruisers, along  
with two human Hyperion cruisers and one heavy spinner," Goret responded  
with the usual derogatory term for the modified Human  
dreadnaught with a rotating section amidships to simulate gravity. Most  
unstylish, but then again, only Humans could make such ugly vessels...

"Their gun ports are open and they're targeting us!"

Jurano wasted no time in taking the initiative – command fell to the ship  
with tactical superiority – to his ship. And under the exact circumstances...

Besides, now was his chance to show what he was made of.

"Order the Vorchan wing to form up on us, and the convoy to make best  
speed to the jump gate. We'll take care of the intruders – launch our  
fighters, and order those on patrol to cover the freighters. Go full ECM and  
commence a suppression barrage. And tell the orbital stations start earning  
their keep. Time to show those upstarts." Jurano's predatory grin seemed  
to inspire the bridge crew, as they focused on the tasks ahead.

The three Vorchans which comprised the Proxima defense fleet began to  
form up around the battlecruiser in a triangular formation which would  
allow them to concentrate their fire.

The enemy fleet assumed a concentrated wedge formation, with the human  
dreadnaught in the front, flanked to port and starboard by both Hyperions,  
and Narn vessels above and below. The human vessels' hulls had been  
repainted with the Narn orange and black color scheme, and aside of the  
added rotating section, it seemed the Nova lacked its trademark big guns,  
with much smaller emplacements on the bow of ship, and what appeared to  
be typical heavy cruiser turrets on the extended mounts protruding from  
amidships.

…

Aboard the Nova-X E.A.S. WarHammer, Captain Benjamin Hale gazed out at  
the former Earth Alliance colony, not bothering to hide his longing.

Formerly the site of one of the Alliance's largest shipyards and a major  
colony, it had been taken under Centauri "protection" after the Minbari had  
slagged Earth. Now the survivors of EarthForce would show the Centauri  
exactly what they thought of their "kind assistance" to the local  
population.

"All batteries target the Primus. Beta, Gamma and Red squadrons head for  
the freighters. Alpha, both Deltas and Green squadrons are to cover us,  
standard formation," Captain Hale ordered. "I want minimum damage on  
those freighters."

As a Hyperion carried only six Starfuries, their half-squadrons were named  
Delta-1 and Delta-2. Red and Green squadrons were the Narn Frazis, and  
the Alpha, Beta and Gamma came from the WarHammer herself.

"Aye sir, firing forward batteries," Lt. Jessica Quintarn replied, sending two  
double beams of blazing orange light, aiming at the bow of the Centauri  
battlecruiser. One of the twin shots went astray; the other struck the  
forward hull of the target, ripping one of its main batteries away in an  
explosion of hot gas and molten metal. A cheer range out from the other  
officers as two Starfury squadrons supported by one squadron of Frazis  
raced towards the freighters.

"Reading heavy damage to front hull of the target. Forward dorsal  
starboard battery is destroyed. Sir... enemy ECM is increasing, I'm having  
problems keeping a sensor lock. Orders?"

"Take us in, nice and slow. Order our Hyperion escorts to close range and  
give us cover, and keep firing. And try to break through their ECM pattern."

The Nova-X fired again, this time achieving only a glancing hit; the  
Centauri squadron had managed to get their act together and return the  
favor. Ventral and surviving dorsal batteries of the battlecruiser, supported  
by main guns of the escorting Vorchans were slinging a constant stream of  
fire towards the intruders. Yet their efforts proved ineffective, as counter  
fire from the Interceptor Grid took care whatever the Centauri managed to  
throw at them.

"You weren't expecting that, eh you bastards?" Captain Hale beamed with  
almost pure joy.

On the G'Quan-class heavy cruisers, Narn-built analogues of typical  
Hyperion turrets replaced their previous secondary guns – the Narns  
weren't above using foreign designs, as long as it gave them an edge.  
Four turrets were placed on the "roll-bar" that framed the main hull,  
providing full all-around coverage, and another two on the ventral and  
dorsal surface of the forward main hull, just above and below the doors of  
the main hangar bay.

And all of them were firing at the incoming bolts. The Interceptor Grid,  
while extremely useful against Centauri weapons, had proven difficult to  
integrate with Narn systems. The two cruisers in the raiding force were  
prototypes. Later cruisers, both newly constructed and those undergoing  
extensive refits, would mount eight interceptors – the extra two turrets  
would be mounted in the aft part of the ship and provide extra protection  
for the vulnerable engine assembly. For now though, they were doing their  
job well enough. 

"Captain..." - Lt. Quintarn reported - "it's an educated guess, but I think  
the Centauri must have gotten a very close look at our targeting systems.  
Their ECM pattern is messing up our sensor data processing algorithms  
really good; we're having problems filtering the false sensor returns out. We  
may have to close range to hit them more reliably."

"Damn, I guess that answers that," Hale sighed. Proxima had used to house  
a major shipyard facility, and between the orbital installations and the  
planetary facilities held a very big lot of hardware. Even before the Fall, the  
closer the Minbari came, the more desperate the people became. And  
desperate people tended to do desperate things. Like selling out. So even  
though there were contingency procedures to prevent classified hardware  
from falling into inappropriate hands, something like this was simply bound  
to happen. Especially considering Alliance currency was perfectly worthless  
well before the Fall, and the Royal Intelligence Service was known to be...  
generous. Thus Hale wouldn't be really surprised to learn that the Centauri  
managed to secure full planetary inventories. Or at least a good share of  
them. Along with the cooperation of local personnel. People had to make a  
living after all...

By then the G'Quans had opened up with their heavy beam cannons,  
concentrating their fire on one of the Vorchans. Two beams missed, one  
was a glancing blow to the port wing, one struck head on.

"Enemy vessel hit, port missile and mine launchers out of action," came the  
report.

"Tell the Narns to try better, and all ships: full speed ahead."

All while Centauri vessels kept firing.

…

"Just a little longer..." mused Jurano. Then an idea occurred to him, one  
that was bound to earn him some well deserved respect. And maybe some  
favor among the higher-ups. "Goret, calculate a new firing solution, send  
out the message and prepare as follows..."

The Centauri squadron increased the volume of fire by adding missiles and  
gravitic mines to the equation. 

Mines from the Vorchans, and missiles from both the three attack cruisers  
and the battlecruiser were speeding towards their targets.

The bulk of the missiles seemed to approach dead on, though six had  
apparently lost their targeting solutions and three of them would pass  
above, and three below their intended targets.

"Steady..." - instructed Jurano, as his crew was widely grinning in  
anticipation.

"Something doesn't feel right," Hale stated. "You agree T'koth?"

"I do," the War Hammer's Narn liaison officer replied.

As on all EarthForce ships working for the Narns, a Narn was assigned to  
oversee operations and make sure the EA crews didn't get any funny ideas.

"The Centauri wouldn't trust the defence of a major system to just three  
cruisers, no matter how arrogant they are. And per schedule that Primus is  
just passing by. Something is wrong here."

"Maybe our Raider buddies did a better job with their intel than we  
thought."

"Still, I recommend that we-" T'koth was cut off by an unforeseen event.

Missiles that would pass above and below had been designated as low  
priority threats, as the Interceptor Grid was struggling with what would  
surely hit if not neutralized.

As the "non-threatening" missiles were directly above and below the  
targeted formation... Out of every three missiles, two carried electronic  
warfare systems, to help disguise the fact that the payload of the third  
one was everything but conventional.

Two miniature suns erupted, blinding the sensors of the ships between them.

And that critical moment of blindness was all the Centauri needed...

"Captain, numerous direct hits on the G'Lath – primary bridge destroyed,  
heavy damage across all decks. She's burning."

One of the vid-screens showed the unfortunate heavy cruiser that seemed  
literally on fire. At least a dozen different spots were ablaze; even more  
were venting plasma and trailing debris. And the fires seemed to spread.

"She's gone, sir... Jump point forming, twelve hundred kilometers to  
starboard, ships emerging!" The lieutenant almost screamed.

From the blue vortex of energy came out two battlecruisers.

"Keep the sensors recording," Captain Sulacko ordered, observing the  
battle between the Centauri and the recently arrived raiding force. The  
Human ships were painted in the same black and orange patterns as the  
Narn vessels, and both groups appeared to have identical weapons.

"Anything from our ground team?"

"Still reading their beacons sir, but nothing new to report." Commander  
Stiles replied.

"All right. Continue full passive scans. Let's see if our EarthForce cousins  
can get out of this one."

"Enemy fighters inbound, from both enemy groups and the orbital  
stations..." The tactical display showed a dozen approaching icons from  
the group ahead, two dozen from the fresh battlecruisers, and even more  
from pyramid-shaped orbital stations around the planet, rushing towards  
them. "They'll converge on us in 30 seconds. And... It seems we're being  
hailed." The lieutenant seemed just as surprised as the rest.

"Let me hear."

From the speaker came a voice that everyone could only associate with an  
extremely arrogant and self-assured Centauri noble.

"Attention raiding vessels. This is lord Kiro of the Centauri Republic.  
Surrender now and I will-" he never got to explain what he would as with a  
single hand wave from Hale the speaker got silenced.

"I guess they wish to play rough. So be it. Lieutenant, forget the freighters  
and recall our outbound fighters. Now it's our turn to kick butt. All ships  
launch energy mines at the group ahead, then all main batteries continuous  
fire. Have the Hyperions open up their surprise packages..."

The most recent modification to the venerable Hyperion-class was revealed  
mounted on the forward hulls of the cruisers. The twin heavy pulse  
cannons had been removed and replaced by a single Narn heavy beam  
cannon, of the same type as the main weapon of the G'Quan-class, and an  
energy mine launcher being added to the ventral hull.

"...Once we finish those off, then bring us about and go after those two,"  
he pointed at the newcomers. "As soon as our fighters get back here have  
them go after the Centauri squadrons. Starboard interceptors, keep us  
safe. Open a channel to N'kal."

"Got him," Parkins called from comm. and the image of the Narn Warleader  
snapped into existence on Hale's console. "Warleader, it looks like the  
Centauri want to make a fight of this."

While they were talking, energy mines left their launchers and sped towards  
their targets. Though they weren't powerful enough to disable a capital  
ship, their EMP pulses did blind the Centauri's sensors and knock out their  
electronic warfare systems, making them much easier targets. A fact that  
got promptly exploited by the attacking force, as the battlecruiser got  
ripped to shreds by a concentrated salvo of six heavy beams from the  
Human ships. At the same time N'kal's ship finished off the previously  
damaged Vorchan. As the two main beams struck at the base of port and  
starboard wing they ignited a string of internal explosions, quickly reaching  
the antimatter reactor and transforming the Centauri ship into a brief  
fireball in space.

The two remaining Vorchans focused on performing desperate evasives,  
until the second barrage, this time from all four ships, which reduced their  
number by one.

"Warleader I suggest that we..." Captain Hale began.

"Sir!" He got interrupted by Lt. Quintarn. "I'm getting an awful lot of  
transmissions from those two battlecruisers, much more then there should  
be. They're trying to jam our sensors. They must be up to something!"

Suddenly a jump point formed between and relatively underneath the two  
battlecruisers and the mixed squadron. A full wing of four Vorchans came  
out, all of them firing their twin main guns on a single target.

Pulses from their main guns, missiles, gravitic mines, all of this combined  
with fire from the remaining Vorchan and the two battlecruisers proved too  
much for the combined Interceptor Grid of the squadron, and the intended  
target, the Narn capital ship, was reduced to a molten slag before anyone  
aboard could even blink.

Captain Hale cursed loudly as N'kal's image turned into static.

Yet the fighter squadrons surrounding the group of capital ships did react,  
and the quartet of Centauri warships turned into a trio as the lead Vorchan  
found out the hard way that those fighters were fitted with missiles. About  
two thirds of the three escorting squadrons had a clear shot at the  
Centauri, and only half of those had fusion-tipped anti-ship missiles. But it  
was enough to convince the remaining three Vorchans, at least one of  
which took a few good hits as well, to jump out as quickly as possible.

Which they promptly did.

Hale recognized the tactic first developed by EarthForce in the final stage  
of the War –an essentially reversed Minbari jump-point attack.

Jump-capable ships would be grouped in pairs, in a squadron made of no  
less then one, but usually two pairs. Every pair of two jump-capable ships  
would provide two transitions – one from, and one back into hyperspace.  
Each ship involved would keep it's jump engines charged and on standby.  
Their fighters would be deployed and armed with simple, unguided missiles –  
even the Minbari stealth couldn't fool something that wasn't there, and the  
missiles were to be fired at point blank range and detonate on impact.

Ships or sensor probes in normal space would provide telemetry data on  
approximated Minbari location.

One of the ships in the group would open a jump-point as close to the  
Minbari as possible – though Alliance jump engines weren't as accurate as  
those of the other side, that wasn't the point. They would aim to emerge  
from hyperspace at point blank range and hopefully from the flank, taking  
advantage of the narrow firing arcs of the Minbari primary guns, fire  
everything they had and jump out as soon as possible. On several  
occasions some squadrons had managed to use their transition vortexes  
back into hyperspace in an offensive manner, neatly disassembling enemy  
ships with them in the process.

The whole thing was dangerous as hell, depended on perfect coordination  
and a not so small dose of luck. It usually worked, until the Minbari adapted  
by assuming looser formations, using their insanely powerful sensor arrays  
to overpower Alliance communication systems, thus preventing telemetry  
data from being relayed, as well as using their fighter screens supported by  
long range fire to clear out anything that might provide that data in the  
first place. Plus a ship or two behind the main formation just in case.

…

Six heavy beam cannons from the Human ships of the line lashed out again,  
punching into the last remaining Vorchan in the front of the  
formation, tearing through its amour and reducing the ship to a quickly  
expanding field of debris.

Captain Hale wasted no time: "Bring us about, prepare a firing solution on  
the lead Primus. Reset interceptors for long range fire and watch out for  
that Vorchan wing. They've still at least one jump between them, and are  
bound to show up at the most inconvenient moment. Gamma and Red  
squadrons are to assume defensive formation around us, good hunting to  
the rest."

Meanwhile the Centauri fighters managed to close range, and after  
receiving a warm reception made up of what anti-fighter missiles the  
defenders had at hand, both groups turned to dog fighting.

"Jump point forming, sir. Behind the enemy battlecruisers."

The remaining Vorchans jumped out, forming up on the two Primuses.  
Despite the loss of both Narn ships, Hale felt relief. The Centauri had just  
made a critical mistake. They had failed to use their secondary weapons to  
suppress the defending fighters when they first came in, or to close in  
enough to destroy the capital ships while jumping out. Or to use their  
remaining jumps for another attack – especially now that the defending  
fighters were distracted by the Sentris.

And so, they would pay for that.

"Prepare the Hammer and Anvil maneuver. Calculate the exit vectors and  
send the coordinates. Let's show them how the stunt is properly done..."

…

Aboard the battlecruiser Veronius, lord Kiro was having the time of his life.  
True, the losses, which until now included one Primus and four Vorchans,  
were somewhat higher then anticipated.

But those were the assigned defenders, and the Primus was just passing  
by, while the two battlecruisers under his direct command would be  
reported to have arrived accidentally, just in time to turn the tide of battle.

As his would be the glory for the victory, while the Royal Navy would have  
to bear the shame of defeat.

Even now, with the three Vorchans adding their firepower to that of his  
ships, that accursed interception system the Earthers had come up with  
was being overwhelmed, especially with their fighters preoccupied with the  
Sentris and thus not able to support their motherships. With almost every  
second, a hit was scored on the three remaining Human ships.

"Yes..." he mused; this victory would increase the prestige of his House  
nicely. What would count in the end was that two Narn and three rogue  
Human ships had been destroyed, and that he, lord Kiro, had been there  
and made this achievement possible. Saving the Republic from yet another  
humiliation on the interstellar scene.

Even that senile old fool the Emperor could not complain. As it was, the  
Narns and the Humans that made the offensive gesture by attempting to  
raid the colony. That they had been lured here with fake intelligence on  
both the supposedly precious cargo of the freighters and the composition  
of defending forces... well... nobody needed to know that little detail.

The whole scheme hadn't been cheap. The bribed Raiders, the two  
battlecruisers, all the assorted costs to insure secrecy... Which included  
the involved Raiders wouldn't talk to anyone about the issue. In fact, they  
wouldn't talk to anyone again – ever. Yes... It was almost insanely  
expensive, as was the equally discrete recovery of the famous Eye of the  
Republic, unearthed by Human scavengers. Great Maker knew only where.

The Eye was the oldest symbol of Centauri nobility, the property of the  
very first emperor. An emperor that came from his house, his ancestor.

There was no greater symbol of authority.

The current emperor was old and his health was declining. His reign was  
everything but popular. He had an heir, but there was a way... There was  
always a way. And the Narns, the Narns the old fool did so much to  
appease would be blamed for this one as well... The delicious irony...

And then... If he played his cards right... Emperor Kiro. Yes, his house  
would once again be where it belonged...  
Yes... he smiled.

"Sir, the Missouri is reporting a direct hit. Moderate damage to the main hull  
and they've lost the mine launcher and the forward ventral turret. We took  
a few hits as well, but so far armor is holding... Damn! Hyperspace probes  
report more Centauri ships inbound, two minutes away and closing. And  
sir..." - the lieutenant smiled - "one Anvil coming up, ETA five seconds."

Lord Kiro's dreams of glory were interrupted as a proximity alert announced  
the forming of a jump-point only fifty kilometers above his formation. Two  
G'Quans emerged, firing even before completing their transition. A burst of  
blue forced him to close his eyes. He would never open them again.

…

Captain Hale observed on his screen as two energy mines erupted in the  
middle of the Centauri formation, followed by perfect hits amidships from  
beam and pulse weapons on the second battlecruiser. Perfect hits awarded  
with a perfect kill.

"Fire!" he ordered. All of his ships fired as one, and the leading Primus got  
struck with six heavy beams – the beams struck dead on, reducing the  
ship's bow and most of its port side to a flaming ruin. All while the Narn  
fighters wasted no time and dumped their missiles on the nearest Vorchan,  
neatly sending it's crew to the Great Maker.

"Fire!" He repeated as the second salvo gutted the unfortunate vessel from  
bow to stern.

"Again!"

The two remaining Vorchans attempted to get out of harm's way, only to  
be taken into crossfire. One fell to the Narn ships, and the other to his own  
group.

"Good shooting Lieutenant. Now let's get out of here." The humming of the  
Nova increased in pitch as in the massive jump engines energy was sent  
from charge capacitors into Quantium 40. A large orange vortex sprang into  
existence, and the squadron wasted no time entering it, leaving a field of  
dead Centauri vessels behind. They would morn their own dead later.

…

"Now that's something you don't see every day," Captain Sulacko  
commented. "I want a full analysis of the sensor data by the end of the  
shift."

"Understood sir," Ensign Helstern replied.

"I'll be in my quarters. Good work today everyone."

…

Lady Ladira gasped as she saw the fire among the stars reflected in her  
glass of Brevari.

"Lord Kiro!" She shouted, dropping the glass to shatter on the marble floor.

This was not supposed to happen. Not like this.

And yet... there... in the background, around the planet.

There was a faint shadow moving...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Ummmph!!!"

John Sheridan didn't bother to excuse himself as he darted towards the men's room. He was quite certain that, after the last session of toilet hugging, his stomach would be empty by now.

Evidently, he was mistaken.

The experience of parting with his meal the same way it came in was as undignified as always, though only half as bad as the same experience floating around in 0G. Especially the clean-up part.

A few minutes later he managed to walk, or rather crawl, back to the bio-bed.

"So, professor, what went wrong?" He asked, somehow managing to mask his discomfort over the issue with a pained expression "I thought this was supposed to be a routine procedure."

The Denobulan geneticist responded in a bored manner, as if lecturing a particularly knowledge-resistant student. "It **is** a routine procedure, and quite frankly, there's no reason I can think of for your reaction."

The "procedure" was the common term for genetic augmentation. Although John was far too old for the full treat, certain "improvements" were still possible, and in the process of being implemented.

"However, you're not the only person to have this problem. In fact, each and every Alliance Human seems to have a form of a rejection to the augmentation process. We think this may have something to do with the fact that your branch of Humanity has produced telepaths, while the Imperial one didn't."

That much was true; telepathy didn't exist among the Imperial Humans, at least not the way it did in the Alliance. There were Imperial Humans with various levels of ESP, from basic empathy to a select few cases with abilities that dwarfed a Psi-Cop – but on the average, measurable ESP manifested itself in about one Human per billion. In other words, among the Imperials ESP was nothing more then a fluke, be it pure chance or simple statistics, something that just happened from time to time. Nothing on the scale in which telepathy was prevalent among the Alliance Humans.

Whatever phenomenon was responsible for this, Empire's best scientists were working around the clock on an explanation. Which led to another, somewhat worrying issue – day by day, the number of _doctors_ around Sheridan and others decreased, and the number of _professors_ increased. Geneticists, all of them, were working either on his tissue samples or those from another of the three dozen or so other Alliance Humans from the first "batch" as they called it.

The Denobulan continued. "Well, we're done for now. With my brilliant self working on your case it's no surprise that your condition is now as it should be. You won't be vomiting as much as you did, and should get over this particular issue within the next two days. In about a week from now you should feel the first improvements. Your eyesight and hearing will improve, along with your remaining senses. Just as your reflexes, hand-eye coordination, strength, IQ and memory will. You will also regenerate faster and be more resistant to most forms of diseases. Plus you'll get an extra two decades to your lifespan. Report to the gym for a tailored work-out program tomorrow to help you adjust. And I still wish to see you every 12 hours for a checkup for the next two weeks. Now, off with you."

With that the Denobulan turned and left, apparently to take care of the next case, that of Jeffrey Sinclair.

The alien was as arrogant as he was efficient. When the ordeal had first begun, Sheridan was seriously contemplating blowing his brains out, and had had to be restrained to keep him from biting his tongue off or clawing his eyes out – among other things. He hadn't been able to keep his food down for more then ten minutes, more often then not he was vomiting and pissing blood, and just about every cell of his body seemed intent on burning, itching and generally hurting in a myriad of other ways all at once. He had lost thirty pounds, about half of his hair, and from the way his gums felt he was probably due for some quality time in a dentist's chair

One agonizing week later however, life seemed worth living again, and he'd been assured he'd fully recover in a month or so.

"Thanks for saving my hide, professor."

The Denobulan didn't respond, seemingly too immersed in his work to notice.

Sheridan straightened the jacket of his uniform for the last time, looking at his reflection in the large mirror in front of him. He looked like shit. His face was gaunt, his hair was mostly missing, and come to think of it, he felt like shit too. Well, not as much as a few days before, but hopefully in a few days he'd be better.

So here he was, in his quarters aboard the Starbase, admiring himself in his new uniform. He hadn't had the opportunity to try it on before. After he'd accepted the Imperial "offer" of "joining" their ranks, which in clear text meant being pressed into service while being allowed to keep his rank and command, he went for the "procedure" and got hospitalized shortly after, before the resident tailor managed to do his work.

He briefly wondered about the quality of the fabric. Whatever the material was, it felt very nice and smooth, way better then the itchy stuff that EarthForce issued. And the rank insignia were made of solid gold – clearly no cheap stuff here. Black boots, black pants, black turtleneck undershirt, an equally black belt with the buckle sporting the Imperial Fleet symbol, and finally a crimson duty jacket completed the look.

The whole outfit was elegant, even a little bit intimidating – probably the whole point of it.

The alarm beeped, reminding him that in ten minutes he was supposed to talk to his new boss.

By the time he reached the office of admiral Travis Mayweather, others were already assembled - head of attached GROPOS, Major Ari Ben Zayn, Captain Lochley, her first officer, a commander Ellis Pierce, plus fighter squadron leaders from both battle cruisers.

From the Imperial side, other then the admiral himself, his female aide, another Fleet officer in form of an Andorian, a commodore no less, a vampirish-looking alien, a Reman if he recalled correctly, sporting a Special Operations Command uniform and the distinctions of a major, and two Betazoids, judging by their eyes, from Section 31if he read their distinctions right.

"Ah, captain Sheridan, good to see you among the living again," greeted Mayweather. "We're here for a preliminary discussion of our strategy regarding the Alliance Sector. So, let's get on with it."

…

"Captain Sheridan, for the third, and the last time, Doctor Franklin is withholding vital information about the Minbari, and thus being questioned by Section 31. They will do their best not to damage him permanently, since he might yet be of use. Once the questioning is over, Doctor Franklin will be returned to you – and not a second before. This issue is hereby concluded. And I strongly suggest you do not seek to test my patience any further, since you are in no position to do so, and you are rapidly depleting what good will we have been willing... "

Sheridan inwardly sighed. Two day ago Doctor Stephen Franklin had been hauled away by Section 31 for "questioning". And that was the last time he was seen or heard from. Yet there was nothing that could be done about the issue, and Sheridan persisted on the issue more as a matter of principle then personal convictions, as he didn't exactly agreed with Franklin's refusal to share his knowledge of Minbari biology. Yet, Franklin was still a citizen of the Earth Alliance, still his subordinate and thus, still his responsibility. And that responsibility had been dragged away from him, and the Imperials only bothered to inform him about the issue _post factum._

And so, as much as he disliked the idea, he mentally tagged the matter as a "lost cause" and went on to the next subject.

"I understand, sir, and will not bother you again. Is there any news yet from the scouting fleet?"

"Well it's only been two weeks since they left," Mayweather answered, his tone changing instantly to a more peaceful and conversational one. "Counting one week for the hyper-transit, about five days at warp to Sol plus the same thing back, assuming they bring representatives of your government, we won't hear from them for about another week and a half."

"Well I'm sure the Alliance will appreciate your actions and intentions for what they are," Elizabeth Lochley added from her position at her ex-husband's side.

Sheridan blanched at the double meaning of his ex-wife's statement. She was always a little bit too straightforward for her own sake.

But she had a point there – EarthForce vessels and personnel had been _de facto_ pressed into Imperial service. Not that in a reversed situation the Alliance would have acted any differently. And true, they were treated as equals, but even as equals they were still only subordinates, with no effective say in their own affairs.

The Empire hadn't bothered to consult any of EarthForce senior officers when they decided to un-thaw the colonists that were supposed to join the Ark colony, and then to integrate them into their society. Technically, those colonists would be far better off in Imperial space, but still...

They did ask a few times for technical advice on minor issues when they began refitting the former EarthForce vessels with their technology – but they did not bother to ask about permission.

They also didn't give a shit about the rules that separated the normal population from the telepaths, and simply turned the teeps loose. Given the choice, the bulk of the teeps in question had happily ditched their Omega badges and migrated to Betazed. The three senior PsiCorps members who used to be in charge of the group, made the mistake of protesting against such blatant disregard of Alliance laws, and were yet to be heard from again. Not that Sheridan was all too fond of the PsiCorps, but still, he didn't like the pattern…

The Empire had also taken their hyperspace technology, and was on its' way to a better understanding of it then anyone else in the Known Space. They were already learning to navigate without the beacon network, even if the process still required detailed maps of normal space. But should they continue to advance at the current pace... Even now they had technologies not even the dreaded Minbari could hope to match.

The whole situation was delicate to the extreme – the Empire was under no legal obligation to help the Alliance, and the way things were it also held all the cards. So it was their good will alone – or more actually, their will to expand into the Alliance Sector, that motivated them to even bother.

And another unsettling observation he and the others had made was that each time the Imperials spoke about the Alliance Earth, they spoke in terms of a _province_, not an _equal partner. _About _incorporation,_ and not _alliance_. There was an extremely worrying pattern to the whole thing.

Mayweather simply smirked, and then responded in kind. "Though we'll cross that bridge once we get to it. I'm sure that with a proper grip on reality, your people will know what's good for them. Even if we might know better about what's good for you."

"And just what is this supposed to mean? You always said we would be treated as equals." Elizabeth was barely containing her outrage.

"And you will be, your citizens that is. As for your government..." Mayweather produced a most unpleasant smile. "I'm sure some of them will be in possession of a properly functioning self-preservation instinct, and will cooperate. Which in turn should be in your Alliance's best interest. In fact, us taking over might be the very best thing that happened to your people ever since sliced bread, considering the whole mess you people brought yourselves into." Sarcasm was dipping from Mayweather's every word.

"Well we manage our own affairs quite well, and I resent your implication," Sheridan spat.

"Then the whole Minbari War thing is just a... silly rumor...?"

All former EarthForce officers present remained silent at that.

"Tell me, Captain Sheridan, why do you think that General Lefcourt chose captain Jankowski for that mission? That's bordering terminal stupidity on the general's part. After all, per your own words, Jankowski was a "loose cannon", ill suited for such a delicate assignment. So, why him?" Mayweather's smirk turned into something... contemptuous. And amused. As if there was something only he knew.

Sheridan fumed initially at the insult to his former superior, but managed to calm down and respond. "I've been asking myself the same question. Hell, I think everyone in EarthForce has."

"And...?"

"I've got no idea. Everybody knew he didn't handle first contact situations very well, so yes, he shouldn't have been chosen for that one."

"Well, think about it Captain. Your former superior sends someone who's pretty much guaranteed to screw up. So why? Why him? Unless of course..."

"Are you suggesting that he was supposed to screw up? But that's absurd!"

"From your current perspective, yes. And I do emphasize the "current" part. But back then, before the war started, your people had a somewhat different view. However, you don't need to take my word for it. Here's our new resident head expert on Earth Alliance Internal Scheming and Machinations." He tried not to sound too amused. "Alice?" Mayweather turned to the woman standing in front of the large window.

This time Sheridan somehow managed not to wince at the "woman" standing left to him – another most unusual thing to get used to. And not a small one either...

Sheridan sighed inwardly. The first time he'd seen "her", he'd thought she was another one of those who make their careers with their... "good looks", most probably the admiral's personal plaything. The fact that "she" was in fact an android and the station's resident AI had come as a rude awakening.

Apparently a little over a decade ago the Imperials had stumbled upon a planetary civilization made up entirely of very advanced androids. Initially the androids seemed quite peaceful and eager to offer their technology and various services to the Empire. Realizing the value of the offer, the Empress accepted and ordered the planet secured. Shortly after that, for reasons unknown the androids turned on the Imperial personnel, attempting to take over the ships defending the planet. Early on they were somewhat successful, securing several ships and neutralizing Imperial personnel planet-side, but they had failed to prevent a distress call from being sent out.

When Imperial reinforcements arrived the tables were turned. Over the next few days the Terrans defeated the android-controlled ships and completely subdued all resistance. Their only failure was, that despite orders to the contrary, the bulk of the planetary industrial infrastructure had been destroyed in the process, as on quite a few occasions the Imperials went a little bit... overenthusiastic with tactical fire support in the form of orbital bombardment.

Executing the admiral in charge of the operation for incompetence didn't change the fact that the Empire was now forced to start its android development programme almost from scratch. However, what little could be salvaged from the debacle had helped immensely, pushing the Imperial research into robotics at the very least decades, if not centuries, ahead.

Robots, mainly simple automatons, were pretty much everywhere – not sophisticated enough to develop self-awareness, and built on purpose so, they did everything from cleaning the streets, mining and resource processing to starship assembly in almost completely automated shipyards. And though the positronic matrix technology still eluded the Empire's grasp, they had managed to greatly improve their current cutting edge multitronic computers.

As some engineer had once explained to Sheridan, multitronic computers were as superior to the duotronic ones as the duotronics were to conventional optronic systems – a form of which the Earth Alliance used. A similar pattern marked the difference between phasers and lasers, as phasers were to lasers what a laser cannon was to a common flashlight. Or what a warp drive was to an ion engine.

While the first multitronic computer, the M-5, was the size of a large desk and sported a very rudimentary AI, the latest M-7 type was about the size of a human brain. Bulh of previous generation M-6 computers were serving as mainframes in Starbases and other sufficiently large and important facilities, though some of them ended up on permanent assignment to S31 facilities and installations.

In order to avoid a possible AI revolt, the Empress had decided to grant them equal rights from the beginning, and so each and every of the fully sentient AIs was assigned an android body of their own choosing. 'Her', as with all the AIs, were patterned after the mind of the Empress, which had been used as a template.

Though they were free to choose any line of work they pleased, most of them worked with tasks they were best suited for, managing vast amounts of information. This meant either crunching numbers for R&D, or micro-managing Starbases and shipyards, where they took care of all the tiresome stuff, like making sure that every subsystem got on time it's share of care by one of the countless thousands of maintenance drones, all of which had to be kept in working condition and supplied with all the required spare parts. This went both for the facilities and for the drones themselves.

It was the same thing was with the almost fully automated shipyards, with only a few people per dry-dock, the bulk of the work was done by drones - and every assembly drone was expected to install the right piece of hardware at the right time, in the right place.

While many people were highly skeptical in the beginning, the skyrocketing efficiency curves had proven the usefulness of the concept, greatly reducing the extent of required manpower, and allowing the Empire to focus on a multitude of projects that under other circumstances simply wouldn't have been possible due to personnel shortages.

The only thing that prevented mass creation of AIs was their price tag. The M-7 multitronic computer matrix alone costed a not-so-small fortune, and android bodies, indistinguishable from human originals, weren't cheap either. Plus the sentient AI itself wasn't just a piece of software that could be copied at will; the process of creating one was slow and difficult, so that as of now there was only about a hundred of them in existence, each "set" worth about as much as a brand new heavy cruiser.

Oblivious to Sheridan's inner musings, Alice responded: "I'm sure you can recognize the person on the projection..." - Though he didn't see her do anything, a holographic projection shimmered into existence, and Sheridan reasoned she must have had used her connection to the Starbase mainframe to control the projector.

A middle-aged man was seated comfortably on a cozy leather sofa, with what looked to be a glass of whisky in one hand, a cigar in the other, and spoke as if discussing the weather forecast.

"Ah yes, the first contact affair."

Sheridan did in fact recognize the person; it was none other then William Edgars of Edgars Industries. He had totally forgotten about the corporate mogul being shipped along.

"You see, about a year or so before the actual outbreak of the war, EarthForce had found itself in a most... precarious situation. It had been over ten years, twelve actually, since the end of the Dilgar War. The Earth Alliance took advantage of it's leading role in the war, and the resulting good will of surrounding worlds, to expand it's sphere of influence. In both political and territorial terms that is. Trade deals and mutual defense treaties were brokered with the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. Most of the races had been forthcoming to Earth's advances, though a few were hostile. Others, like the Minbari, were a mystery. But the main point was that the momentum of Earth's expansion had come to a natural end. We'd expanded as far as we safely and effectively could, without either expanding, or overtaxing the fleet and risking our far-flung colonies and outposts. The League was an ally, the Centauri friendly, the Narns not an issue. With no credible threats around, there was simply no justification for the current level of military spending. The Senate was pushing for budget cuts, with various Senators all having wonderful ideas on what to do with the saved money. A lot of that was to go into infrastructural development on our new holdings, so the megacorporations outside of the military-industrial complex were all for it."

"And as you can guess, the ones _in_ the military-industrial complex didn't like it. Not a bit. They did manage to stall the process for a while of course, with all the money and connections they had, but with the end of our territorial expansion their time had run out. While we were expanding, we naturally had to secure our new-found possessions, but without that... The Senate was about to reform EarthForce, shifting its focus from a war-fighting to a peace-keeping one. Both the Army and the Fleet were to be significantly reduced, in terms of personnel and capacity. Well, gutted would be a better term - enough to secure our borders and installations, and just in case something smelly hitting the fan, holding an "adequate" reserve of unspecified size, but nothing more."

"The Fleet," Edgers continued, "would see it's dreadnaught component "adjusted" and "optimized" - several squadrons of the newest ships would be kept in service, as command vessels and visible deterrents, but the rest would be mothballed, with the oldest units scrapped. The Hyperion-class heavy cruisers were to become the predominant type in service. It was argued, and I must admit rightly so, that dreadnaughts were too slow and too expensive for the mundane tasks of patrolling our borders and keeping the trade routes safe, and sending them against Raiders was an overly expensive overkill. So we'd keep the best and newest units in service, station them around Earth and some of out key systems and installations, and retire the rest – about two-thirds of them. But you must see that the heavy cruisers came from a competing corporation, so the one that made the dreadnaughts was facing some very bleak times. You could say this is what you get when you get stingy with money and don't donate campaign funds to all the key players." Edgars chuckled at his small joke.

"They did come up with the Nova-X subtype, the one with the rotating section, but there was no way the Senate would fund a fleet-wide replacement. They got enough for a few prototypes, but that would be it for a very long while.

The cuts were all across the board. And this meant per fiscal year billions less would be spent on weapons, servicing, upgrades, spare parts, fuel, food and so on".

"And of course, on medical supplies – or am I mistaken, Mr. Edgars?" A voice in the background asked.

"No, no, you are entirely correct. But you see, my corporation could always sell on the civilian market; I don't deny it. EarthForce was a good, steady customer, and we made good money back then. But whereas I could shift to civilian or even foreign markets, the arms industry could not. They couldn't offer tanks or dreadnaughts to civilians, and they couldn't export them either. A lot of very influential people were very, very unhappy over it. No government contracts meant no easy money for the politicians accustomed to them, and the next elections were only a year away. And then there was the General Staff to consider – the military never likes having it's toys taken away. So when you add two and two..."

"I think I'm beginning to see where this is heading..." - the voice from before stated.

"Well I'm sure you do..." - Mr. Edgars seemed to enjoy the cigar - "... so you see, when you add all those unhappy people together, what you get is Captain Jankowski. They knew the guy had a few loose screws, but they didn't care. After all, we just wasted the Dilgar – something the League could never hope to do, and that the Centauri didn't even dare to try. We were the meanest guy around, one nobody dared to cross. So since we handled the Dilgar, we thought we could naturally handle the Minbari."

"Weren't your people even a bit concerned about messing with an unknown factor?"

"Some were, but clearly not enough. They thought that the Minbari were pretty much like the Centauri, a declining power, and that their self-imposed isolation was a result of that decline, a sign of weakness. That they simply lacked the will and the capacity for any sort of significant involvement into affairs outside of their borders. A mix of Centauri and Yolu mindset, if you please. What we didn't expect was that the Minbari simply didn't give a shit about what was going on out there, as long as they weren't bothered with it."

"So why Jankowski, what was he supposed to do?"

"In short, bring news of a 'new, significant and credible threat to the security of the Alliance,' or something like that. I don't know all the details, but apparently it was that our people would not object to a small "incident". Something to show the Minbari that Earth is best not messed with. And on our part, require an "alert stature", along with a "careful reconsideration of our defense policies".

"In other words, even if the good old days of war-time levels of military spending would not return, the "threat" the Minbari posed, as in this light was the situation to be presented to the public, would keep the money flowing. And get some extra funds for R&D. So the generals would keep more of their old toys, get some new ones and be happy. The executives would get their contracts, and they and the shareholders would be happy. The politicians involved would get enough money to carry the next elections, stay in power and be happy as well. A win-win situation for everybody."

"Only that it didn't work out as expected."

"Well, who could have thought that the very head of the Minbari government would see fit to grace some obscure border outpost with his presence..." - Edgars snorted.

The projection froze at that.

"So, dear captains... Any comments on that?" Mayweather's amused satisfaction was impossible to conceal. "As you see, your own people engineered the conflict. Pity they miscalculated so badly..."

"I can hardly believe this... this... this in an outrage. That man is..." Sheridan was visibly pissed.

"He's selling you out. Or rather, selling himself to us. Observe..." Mayweather nodded at the android woman, who in turn produced another recording.

"So Mister Edgars, what exactly brings you here?" Edgars' cigar wasn't lit yet, so this had to be early in the conversation.

"I wish to make a deal with you, as simple as that," Edgers replied.

"You mean "us" as in the Empire, or "us" as in the Section 31 ?"

"Isn't that the same?"

"I can well imagine the sort of advantage our "friendship" would give you. But what can you offer us in return, mister Edgars?"

"Myself of course."

"Please, elaborate. And do not attempt to deceive us – my Betazoid colleague here could teach your PsiCops a few tricks, so rest assured nothing short of absolute honesty will do. "

"Well then, I don't like being scanned, but as they say: When in Rome…, if you pardon the pun... I offer you my knowledge of Alliance's inner workings, experience in back-room deals and access to the highest ranks of power. My company is among the biggest megacorporations on Mars, and one of EarthForce's key suppliers. I have connections among the key power brokers back home – the military, the Senate, the media - you name it. I know a lot of dirty secrets, and I also have my own senator-" He didn't finish as the male voice from before interrupted him.

"Your "own" senator?"

"Yes, I bought senator Claxby's re-election. Several other senators are also deeply in my debt. You see, technically, the Alliance is a democracy. But the truth is that we, the megacorporations, call the shots. All the shots – discretely of course, behind the curtains. Have been doing so for decades. People are allowed to vote because this lets them think their voice matters and keeps them from questioning the status quo."

"But it doesn't, I take it?"

"Of course not. Do you know how much a successful senatorial campaign costs? You needn't even bother without at least 80 million credits. A hundred would be better, and I spent 120 on my man. Only we can supply this sort of money – discretely of course, via our various subsidiaries."

"And your "free and independent" media just happen to simply ignore this? Whatever happened to investigative journalism?" The voice asked. Edgers smiled at the question.

"We are the media – who do you think owns them? All the big and important ones at least. The ones that tell the dumb masses what to think, what to buy, and whom to vote for. This is part of what I have to offer you. Once you go public, I'll make sure you get good press on ISN and a number of smaller agencies. I'll also help you establish yourselves on Mars; I pull a lot of strings there. You will also be able to use my connections with EarthForce and EarthDome, to help make things go... smoothly."

"Assuming we're interested, what would you expect in return? And why this sudden... shift of loyalty? Your people could see this as treason, so you're playing a dangerous game here, Mister Edgars. So, what's in it for you?"

"Captain Dzierzynski, I didn't become a billionaire by being stupid. Nor by letting golden opportunities pass me by. My company deals mainly in pharmaceuticals, and I have seen first hand the stuff you people have here. And I don't mean just the pharmaceuticals, but pretty much everything. In my professional opinion, whoever does not come to some sort of an agreement with you, will be out of business within a year from your arrival. I simply wish to throw my lot in with the future rulers."

"The future rulers?"

"Come on, don't insult my intellect. You wanted the truth, so let's have it. You're not going to help us against the Minbari out of brotherly love for your fellow men. No matter how exactly you pull it off, you're going to end up dominating the Earth Alliance, and the entire sector afterwards. You and I both know that. And both you and I know that nobody back home can stand up to you – not even the Minbari. I do happen to realize the implications of your warp technology, and the inevitable confrontation between you and them can end in only one way. Heck, you could probably warp straight to their homeworld and blast it to kingdom come before any of them could even blink. I've studied every bit of available information on you conduct regarding other governments. You're an empire in every sense of the word. This, aside of outright conquest, means expansion, domination, and incorporation – your history allows no other conclusion."

Edgars paused to light the cigar. "But don't take me for a selfish turncoat. I am a patriot, though a rather pragmatic one. Under the circumstances we've found ourselves in, I truly do believe that joining up with you is in the best interest of the Alliance; quite possibly the only way to survive the current madness. So with this logical conclusion, I simply wish to bow down to the inevitable, and help pave the way to a better future. For all of us."

"Hmm, you seem to be telling the truth. You have presented your reasons, but what of your price?"

"I think you'll find it quite reasonable. I would expect the following: First shot at some of you medical achievements, including, but not limited to, cloning of body parts, genetic augmentation, cellular regeneration, diagnostic equipment and a few others. Depending on bright ideas of EarthDome, we can make it a "joint-venture" type of an arrangement, or a favorable patent / license deal. I also wish exclusive rights to import and market whatever products you will not see fit to release the technologies for. Furthermore, I'd like a number of your people, knowledgeable in the relevant fields of expertise, to work for me as technical advisors. Rest assured their services will be well rewarded. We can hammer out the details later, but this pretty much sums it up."

"Well mister Edgars, you have made quite an offer. We'll forward it up the ladder."

With this, the projection was terminated.

Sheridan was, needless to say, speechless. Also at that moment he made a silent vow to have Mr. Egdars suffer a tragic "accident" should the corporate mogul ever set foot on his ship.

Judging by his ex-wife's expression, she'd probably just phasorise the old fart. Which didn't stop her from speaking out. "Admiral, judging by the first recording, did you made a deal with him?"

Mayweather simply smiled. "Well of course we did. The man is a gold mine of information. And knowledge is power, as you know. But enough of this. I assume both of you have taken time to properly familiarize yourselves with the modifications of you vessels. They are expected to become operational within the next twelve weeks. Any questions?"


End file.
